


A Different Set of Circumstances

by CherishedRose



Series: Circumstances Crossover Verse [1]
Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Psychonauts (Video Games)
Genre: Crossover, Different Circumstances, F/M, Gen, Other, Will Add More Later, just messing around, one sided crushes, rivals to friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2019-07-24 19:49:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16181975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherishedRose/pseuds/CherishedRose
Summary: What if two certain Eaglelander Psychics were recruits being trained in a highly classified training facility for Psychics? Find out in this quirky summer adventure retold!





	1. Prologue: Orientation

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so I had it in my head about Ness and Paula being trained at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp for about a few years, but only now I've typed it down. So the story is basically a novelization of Psychonauts only the two Eaglelanders are along for the ride.
> 
> Please critique and help me makes sure the story flows smoothly as a result.

“The human mind… six hundred miles of synaptic fiber, five and a half ounces of cranial fluid, fifteen hundred grams of complex neural matter… A three pound pile of dreams.” Coach Oleander then turned towards his audience. 

“But I’ll tell you what it really is. It is the ultimate battlefield, and the ultimate weapon. The wars of this modern age- The Psychic Age- are all fought somewhere between these damp curvaceous undulations.” The coach then paused to gently stroke the projected image of the brain behind him in what appeared to be admiration. Then just as quickly, he turned back.

“From this day forward, you are all Psychic Soldiers. Paranormal Paratroopers! Mental Marines who are about to ship out on the adventure of their lives!” Gesturing to the brain projection with his crop, Oleander declared.

“THIS IS OUR BEACHHEAD!” He then tapped his head with his crop, “And this is your landing craft! You shall engage the enemy in his own mentality! You shall chase his dreams, you shall fight his demons, and you shall live his nightmares!” Oleander’s gaze swept across his audience.

“And those you who fight well, you will find yourselves on the path to becoming international psychic agents. In other words… PSYCHONAUTS!” The coach turned to his right, giving his fellow counselors Sasha and Milla a proud smile. The smile then disappeared as he finished his opening speech to his audience.

“The rest of you… WILL DIE.”

Silence, with the occasional whimper fell over the group of children who were listening to Coach Oleander’s speech. Dogen Boole bursting into tears then broke the silence. As the tinfoil hatted child wailed, Paula Jones started patting his left shoulder reassuringly. “Easy there Dogen,” the blonde girl smiled, her blue eyes gentle.

“Oh, Morry,” Sasha sighed, exasperated at Oleander’s statement.

“Children, you’re not going to die,” Milla soothed.

“Well, if you’re not a Psychonaut, you might as well be dead!” Oleander declared. The children all flinched.

“They told me this was a summer camp!” Dogen whimpered as Paula continued to comfort him.

“Well, it is!” The boy next to Paula, a red and blue baseball cap covering his black hair huffed. “It’s a camp taking place during summer. Only this summer camp is for special kids.”

“Ness,” Paula admonished him as the other campers started glaring at him.

“I’m not implying anything!” Ness Stevenson snorted. He couldn’t help but be bitter at his circumstances that led him to be here, far from his home in Onett, Eagleland. Just a few days ago, Ness was just a normal all Eaglelander kid, but then he just had to get into a big fight that labeled him dangerous in his own hometown. It was either stay in jail, or learn to control his gift. A ‘gift’ his mother knew he had since he was a baby.

“Ah, Dogen. Don’t worry about ol’ Coach Oleander. I’ve been coming here for years, and trust me- nothing ever happens.” Lili Zanatto then appeased. Ness started a retort, but a sharp look from Paula silenced him. 

“Yeah Dogen. Lili’s right. You don’t got nothin’ to worry about.” Ness bristled when the orange haired boy seated behind Lili and Dogen started talking.

“Bobby, leave Dogen alone,” Paula took Dogen’s hand to comfort the timid boy. Ness glared at the bully.

“Oh, I’m not teasin’, “ Bobby smirked, his horrible teeth on full display. He then leaned over the quivering Dogen while making claw gestures with his fingers. “I’m just telling Dogen he should be on the look out for the giant monster in the lake.” 

“Bobby Zilch! I told you to stop scaring people with that ridiculous old legend!” Oleander snapped. Sasha and Milla then stepped on to the stage as Oleander continues his spiel. “I don’t want to be afraid to go out alone at night and walk alone on the perfectly safe paths of Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp.” Ness had to roll his eyes at that statement. There was a curfew in place after all.

“And we don’t want to scare off our special guests, superstar Psychonauts Sasha Nein-” Oleander brandished his crop, nearly striking Sasha who was at his right, “-and Milla Vodello!” He then gestured to his left.

Suddenly, a tree branch overhead snapped. There was a cry of alarm, and then something fell into the bushes behind the campers.

“Lake monster!” Dogen screamed, pulling free from Paula’s grip in a blind panic. As the campers around him ran around in fear, Ness simply telekinetically opened his yellow backpack and pulled out a cracked baseball bat.

“Ness, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Paula protested. Ness couldn’t help but be impressed that she was staying calm. “We aren’t in danger,” she then clarified.

“Just in case, stay close to me, okay?” Ness replied as he stood up and brandished his bat, making sure to stay by Paula, who remained seated.

“Formation!” Sasha declared, and the three camp counselors began to try and catch the unknown entity. The bushes rustled loudly as they tried to pull out the entity.

“It’s resisting.” At Milla’s quip, the counselors put more effort in pulling out the entity. At last, they pulled something from the bushes. Ness could see a glint of red on the entity from the campfire. “Quick, bring it over here.” The counselors moved the entity over the heads of the (mostly panicking) campers. As the entity flew over Ness, Paula stood up and made him put down his bat.

“As I told you, we aren’t in danger,” Paula gave Ness a smile, and had him sit down. Ness sighed, and then telekinetically placed his bat back into his backpack. The intruder was telekinetically held over the counselors in the meantime.

“What is it?” Sasha asked.

“It’s just a little boy!” Milla exclaimed. “What’s your name darling?” All the campers were beginning to calm down. Ness blinked and realized that yes; the struggling entity that was floating over everyone just a kid. But then he noticed how Paula was eyeing the new kid attentively. 

“I’ll find out,” Oleander narrowed his eyes and began to pry into the new kid’s mind. Or more accurately, tried to. “Can’t… get… in… Argh!” The counselors then lost their telekinetic grip of the new kid, and falling with a flip, he landed on the stage gracefully. Now that the new kid was in the campfire light, Ness could see just how he looked. The kid wore a jacket with matching pants over a green striped turtleneck sweater and brown shoes. Adorning the kid’s head was an aviator helmet and red tinted goggles.

“My name…” The kid started.

“…Starts with a D…” Oleander quipped.

“…is Razputin.” The new kid lifted his goggles, revealing bright emerald eyes. Oleander grumbled at guessing wrong. “But everyone calls me-” The new kid folds his arms and dramatically stares at the audience, “-Raz.”

“Please don’t kill us, lake monster!” Dogen begged. Paula resumed comforting the timid child in response, but Ness could see that she still had her attention on Raz.

“Compelling,” Sasha mused, eyeing Raz with curiosity.

“Armored like a tank!” Oleander added, impressed with Raz’s defensive mind.

“Sorry I’m late. I don’t want to interrupt your Agent Oleander.” Raz apologized. He then addressed Sasha and Milla, “Agents Nein, Vodello. Please continue.” Ness blinked in surprise as Raz then leapt off the stage toward the other campers. At Raz’s action, any awe the counselors had for him faded.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Oleander asked with narrow eyes.

“You’ve broken into a highly-classified, remote government training facility,” Sasha added sternly.

“I know! Isn’t it great?” Raz asked, unperturbed by the counselors’ disapproval. “Listen, why don’t I just sit over here quietly with my fellow Psi-Cadets-?” As Raz moved to join the seated children, Paula then made a space for him between herself and Ness. Ness felt a twinge of annoyance at the way Paula smiled at Raz.

“Oh thank you!” Raz smiled at Paula’s gesture.

“You’re welcome,” Paula replied, a light blush covering her cheeks as Raz took his seat.

“How’s it going?” Raz asked Ness. Ness could only glare in response. Raz then turned towards Dogen. “I like your hat!” He complimented.

“We need to have this young man taken from here immediately,” Sasha announced, folding his arms.

“I’ll call his parents,” Milla added.

“What?” Raz cried out in alarm. “But… don’t you train Psychonauts here?”

“Yes darling, but-”

“To soar across the astral plane? To wage psychic warfare against the enemies of free thought?” Raz gazed at the counselors, a look a determination in his eyes.

“That is what I wrote on the front of the pamphlet…” Oleander admitted as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Those words are why I’m here Coach Oleander,” Raz continued. “Do you remember what you wrote on the inside of that pamphlet?” Ness blinked in surprise, his anger momentarily forgotten.

“You were born with a special gift, but the people around you treat it like a curse. Your mother is afraid of you, and your father looks at you with shame in his eyes.” As Raz recited the inside of the pamphlet, there was a noticeable silence in the air. Oleander mouthed the words Raz was speaking.

“Come to Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, and you can show them all! Back home your powers make you a loner-”Lili lowered her head. “-an outcast-” Paula hugged her teddy bear tightly. “-a circus freak-” Raz then added bitterly, “But in this dojo, this Psychic dojo, they make you a hero.” Raz eyed the counselors, silently pleading them to allow him to stay.

Oleander turned away in an attempt to hide his watery eyes. “Get that soldier a bunk.” He declared with a point.

\---

For the next few minutes, Raz was the topic of interest among the campers. Ness didn’t bother to join in any discussions; all he was focused on was that Paula seemed to like him-

“Hey Ness!” Elton Fir interrupted Ness’s train of thought. Ness glared at the sailor-clad camper.

“What?” Ness asked, his voice low.

“Did you see how Lili looked at the new kid Raz?” Elton asked, worry drenching his question.

“I wasn’t paying attention to Lili, so why should I be concerned if Raz scared her when he dropped in?” Ness answered curtly. “Also, didn’t I warn you that your crush on her is a waste of time?”

“Hey! Love is never a waste of time!” Elton countered.

“And I thought it was very clear she’s not interested in you,” Ness rolled his eyes. Most of his fellow campmates were such drama monarchs acting in one of the soap operas his mother enjoyed watching. Ness then sighed. He really misses his mother.

“Besides, you noticed the way the Twoson Wonder looked at Raz right?”

“Sailor, head out to sea before I throw you overboard!” Ness snapped in a sudden rush of fury. Elton squeaked and dashed away at Ness’s outburst. Ness sighed in relief at being alone again. He started toward the Boys’ Cabin.

“-I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!” Ness froze at Paula’s voice. And there she was in her pretty pink dress with a strange badge pinned on the white collar, red boots on her feet, and a cute red ribbon in her golden hair, talking to Raz in front of the Boys’ Cabin!

“Do you remember me? We first met about three years ago?” Ness bristled, feeling Paula’s empathy drench the surrounding area with her feelings of infatuation. Meanwhile, Dogen sat near the entrance of the Boys’ Cabin, oblivious to Paula’s display of power.

“Um, sorry?” Raz replied, scratching his head. “I don’t remember ever meeting you.” At Raz’s answer, Paula deflated.

“Oh, well, your family does travel a lot, being circus performers and all.”

“I’m not gonna be a circus performer anymore, I’m gonna be a Psychonaut!” Raz gestured proudly.

“Children! It’s almost curfew!” Milla announced. All the campers still outdoors then started towards their respective cabins. She then smiled at Paula. “You know the rules.”

“Yes Miss Vodello,” Paula smiled respectfully. She then turned to the two boys. “Good night Raz! Good night Dogen!” And she started towards the Girls’ Cabin. But she froze, and then turned toward Ness. Ness bristled and refused to meet her eye. If he stayed quiet, maybe she’ll just go to bed- Nope, she was walking right up to him.

“You’re jealous.” Ness slowly turned. Dark violet eyes met blue eyes.

“I’m not,” Ness grumbled in response.

“You are, and you shouldn’t be,” Paula admonished. “Raz is an old friend of mine. There’s nothing wrong with being happy to meet up with a friend you haven’t seen for a long time again.”

“Or rather, you found your ex-boyfriend who forgot about you,” Ness bitterly answered.

“Ness!” Paula rebuked, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment; the two Eaglelander Psychics were starting to draw attention. “I’ll admit Raz is cute, but we are just friends! Don’t be so selfish! Good night!” Paula stormed off to the Girls’ Cabin, clutching her teddy bear tightly.

Ness snorted and tried to suppress the guilt and anger bubbling in his gut. He continued on his way to the Boys’ Cabin. As he approached his destination, he noticed Milla leaving a despondent Raz at the cabin’s door. As Raz watched Milla depart, he sat down on the doorstep.

“Wowee, you’re so lucky. You get to go home soon,” Dogen sighed as he sat next to Raz.

“Home? Back there I was just like you were Dogen-” Raz stood up, “punished by my own family for having powers I never asked for.” Raz then turned towards the Girls’ Cabin, catching Lili’s eye. She paused, then turned and entered the Girls’ Cabin for the night.

“But here, I have a chance to be something.” Raz turned back to Dogen, “To make a difference.” He knelt towards Dogen. 

“They may come for me, Dogen, but they will be looking for Raz, the boy.” He then stood up again. “What they’re going to find… what they don’t expect, is Raz,” Raz then made a gesture, “the Psychonaut.”

“And- and- and then you’ll make their heads explode?” Dogen asked. Ness had to stifle a laugh at Dogen’s question.

“No! Do you do that?” Raz inquired Dogen, shocked by Dogen’s reveal of Blastokineses.

“No!” Dogen answered, then he amended, “Well, once kinda. But now I wear this special hat.” Both boys then started to enter the Boys’ Cabin.

“Wanna try it on?” Dogen offered.

“No no no!” Ness couldn’t help but chuckle at Raz’s panicked refusal at Dogen’s offer.

“Ness Stevenson,” Ness froze when he heard Sasha address him suddenly. “You do realize how late it is right?”

“Yes sir, sorry I was distracted,” Ness apologized to the German Psychic. “I will rest well for my lessons with you tomorrow.” Ness then dashed into the Boys’ Cabin. As he entered the cabin, he noticed the counselors discuss what to do over Raz’s presence.

Speaking of Raz, Ness noticed that Raz had decided to bunk with Dogen. Dogen noticed Ness enter the cabin.

“Hey Ness,” Dogen greeted Ness with a smile.

“Any time at all, Dogen,” Ness replied with a smile. Ness then jumped up to his bunk over Maloof’s bunk. Meanwhile, Maloof was sobbing underneath him.

“Chin up Maloof,” Ness consoled as he telekinetically pulled his suitcase from under the bunks. “Summer won’t last forever.” Maloof simply started crying louder in response. Ness shrugged, took off his baseball cap, and set it near the corner. He then opened his suitcase and pulled out his blue and white striped pajamas.

“So…” Ness tried to sound casual, “Raz right?”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone calls me,” Raz answered from his bunk over Dogen.

“Well, don’t mind me asking, but do you know Paula Jones?” Ness interrogated.

“Who?” Raz eyed Ness confused by the question.

“Ness is talking about the Twoson Wonder,” Nils Lutefisk explained as he practiced pushups on his bunk. Nils then smirked at Ness. “You got competition.”

“I don’t have a crush on Paula,” Ness growled as a blush slowly covered his cheeks. “Besides, that love and making out crap is a waste of time.”

“So that means Paula’s available?” Nils asked. A burst of red, blue, and yellow lights flashed from Ness’s body as he glared daggers at Nils.

“I warned you, if you go anywhere near Paula, I will break your pretty face! GOT IT?!”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll leave her alone!” Nils cried out in alarm.

“Good!” And that statement marked the end of Ness’s lightshow. The entire Boys’ Cabin was silent as Ness changed from his yellow and blue striped shirt, jean shorts, and red shoes into his pajamas. Ness was just putting his suitcase and yellow backpack under the bunk when Coach Oleander suddenly burst into the cabin.

“All right! Settle down in here! BIG DAY tomorrow! I want to see each and every one of you runts at oh-six-hundred hours on the dot! I’m the early bird, and you’re the worms, got it? Now… light out!”

The cabin was plunged into the darkness of the night.

\---

A few hours pass…

And then suddenly, a loud scream broke the tranquil night. Ness startled and tumbled out of his bunk. He quickly rose from the ground, for he recognized who had screamed.

“Paula!” Not bothering to change into his outdoorsy outfit, Ness grabbed his yellow backpack and dashed to the Girls’ Cabin. The lights in the Girls’ Cabin were on; Ness stopped at the closed door and pounded on it.

“Eek!” Who’s there?” Ness had to suppress a gag at the sound of Kitty Bubai’s voice.

“It’s just me!” Ness answered.

“Well go away then!” Lili’s voice replied from the other side of the door.

“Not until I know Paula’s okay!” Ness countered.

“Children!” Milla Vodello was on the scene. “What happened?”

“It’s okay, Miss Vodello,” Paula answered, sounding rather shaken. “It’s just a nightmare.”

“Can you believe that?” The snobby voice of Franke Athens snarked. “The Twoson Wonder having a nightmare?”

“Hey, shut up!” Ness snapped. He disliked how Kitty and Franke treated Paula, and wasn’t going to let them badmouth her so easily.

“A Nightmare huh?” Raz had joined the scene. “I’ve been reading on how to fix nightmares. Can I see it please?” Ness glared at Raz. 

“Raz, everyone, I’m so sorry,” Paula apologized. “It’s not too serious. Just go back to sleep everyone.”

“You hear that? Now mind your own business Raz!” Lili snapped.

“Let me handle this,” Milla gave Ness and Raz a comforting smile. “But I am glad that you two are so eager to help out.” She then gently shoved the two boys toward the direction of the Boys’ Cabin.

“Oh man, I wanted to see a real nightmare!” Raz grumbled as he and Ness approached the Boys’ Cabin. Ness then suddenly grabbed the front of Raz’s shirt and slammed him against the side of the cabin.

“Hey!”

“Listen here Gogglehead, I’m the one who looks after Paula; so you better stay away from her. Got it?” Ness glowered.

“Okay! I get it!” Raz yelled out as he struggled against Ness’s grip.

“Ness?” At the sound Sasha’s voice, Ness flinched and quickly released Raz. He guiltily turned toward his teacher.

“Ness, I told you multiple times to stop fighting with your campmates,” Sasha sighed.

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” Ness apologized.

“It’s not me you should apologize to,” Sasha admonished. Ness bristled, and slowly faced Raz.

“I’m sorry for threatening you,” this apology was not as sincere as the previous one.

“No hard feelings,” Raz answered, aware of the insincerity.

“Good, now you two go back to sleep,” Sasha ordered, oblivious to the fake apologies. The two boys were quick to comply.

“Don’t- say- anything.” Ness growled at the other boys in the cabin as he returned to his bunk. He lied back down and tried to go back to sleep.

Eventually, Ness was able to fade way into a peaceful rest, throughout which he dreamed of home.


	2. Chapter 1: Basic Braining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As he promised, Ness teams up with Paula to complete Coach Oleander's Basic Braining Course. Will the Eaglelander duo reach the end together?

Ness was pleasantly surprised to wake up feeling energetic despite the interruption from the prior night. He scanned the Boys’ Cabin, noting that Raz was still asleep. He debated with himself if he should wake him, but ultimately decided against it. Ness leapt down from his bunk and took out his suitcase. Time to change.

 

After changing into his usual outfit, Ness left the Boys’ Cabin. Some of his fellow campers were already awake, simply chatting at the base of Oleander’s tree house. Ness smiled when he saw that Paula was among them. He approached her.

 

“Good morning Paula,” Ness greeted, unsure if he should bring up what happened last night.

 

“Good morning Ness,” Paula replied with a smile. She appeared no worse for the wear at least.

 

“As I promised, I’ll look after you,” Ness declared to the blonde.

 

“Good on you Ness,” Quentin Hedgemouse praised. “I just knew that you really are a chill guy after all.”

 

“And any reason she gets special treatment?” Ness shot Lili a glare. Lili was just asking that question to snark at him.

 

“None of your business Pigtails.”

 

“Ness, Lili, please don’t fight,” Paula pleaded as she quickly stood between the two.

 

“Paula’s right,” Phoebe Love added. “Ness, if you have any problems, don’t take it out on Lili.”

 

“I’m not trying to start anything,” Lili answered, though her small smirk implied otherwise. Paula took Ness’s arm and started to lead him up the tree house before he could retort. She then noticed Phoebe and Quentin weren’t following.

 

“Aren’t you two coming?”

 

“Nah, Basic Braining’s way too dangerous for us. All Phoebe and I gotta do now is decide on our band name. And Paula, the offer for a great vocalist still stands!” Quentin smiled.

 

“Thanks but no thanks. I’ve been in the spotlight too long,” Paula declined.

 

“Ah, well, see you later at the Main Lodge!” The two band mates waved good-bye as Paula continued to lead Ness up the ramp.

 

Meanwhile Ness was lost in thought. Paula sings? ‘Well,’ he thought to himself, ‘She does have a cute voice-’

 

“You’re coming with us Lili?” Ness nearly tripped when he realized that Lili was also heading up the ramp as well.

 

“I’m not babysitting you two, so of course not,” Lili answered.

 

“Good, don’t need a brat to hold my hand for this class. What are Quentin and Phoebe worried about? I bet it’s not that hard.” Ness retorted.

 

“Wanna bet soldier?” Ness cried out and turned to face Coach Oleander; the coach was directing a fierce scowl his way. “You saying you can reach the end of Basic Braining on your first try greenhorn?”

 

“O-of course I can!” Ness recovered. He glared at the coach, trying to push away the sudden jumpiness from Oleander’s challenge. Oleander laughed in response.

 

“You got grit there kid! I guess Sasha was right about you after all!” The Coach then stared critically at Paula. She flinched and hid behind Ness hugging her teddy bear tightly.

 

“So you’re the Twoson Wonder huh? Hmph, what a disappointment.”

 

“Hey! Take that back!” Ness snapped.

 

“I have to be honest, when I heard the Psychonauts finally recruited the Twoson Wonder in this camp, I was expecting a battle ready recruit.” Oleander spoke, ignoring Ness’s outburst. “Instead, we have a pitiful girl who can’t even hurt a fly!”

 

“Why would I want to learn how to hurt others?” Paula asked softly. “Fighting is bad.”

 

“As I mentioned last night, if you aren’t a Psychonaut, you might as well be dead!” Oleander shouted. Paula hugged her teddy bear even more tightly, trying to fight back tears.

 

“So what? The Psychonauts recruited her anyway right?” Ness retorted. “They saw something special in her. If you can’t see how cool Paula is, then we won’t take your class, because you can’t teach us crap then!” Ness took Paula’s hand and started to lead her away. Paula squeaked in surprise at Ness’s touch.

 

“Hold it soldier!” Oleander ordered. Ness wanted to ignore him, but Paula held him back. Reluctantly, Ness turned to face the coach.

 

“I’ll admit I was hasty when I judged you Eaglelanders,” Oleander admitted. He gazed at Ness.

 

“When I first saw you, I didn’t believe it when Sasha said that you could unleash devastating raw Psychic energy. But you have showed me the stalwart will of a warrior just now!” Oleander paused. “I’ll give the Twoson Wonder a chance to show me what she’s got.”

 

Other campers were starting to join. Ness took no notice of them, his attention was on Paula, and that she looked rather scared. Ness gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. ‘I’ll stick by you through the class.’

 

_‘Thank you.’_

 

“What the-?!” Ness flinched when he heard Paula’s thought, but didn’t release her hand. Paula’s face flushed, and she then pulled her bear up to hide herself. Oleander burst out laughing.

 

“Well, look at this! If you two ever become full fledged Psychonauts, you’d be just as great a duo as Agents Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello!” The Coach then addressed the gathering campers.

 

“All right recruits, get ready to relive every one of my battle scarred memories!” Oleander lifted up his helmet, revealing a small door on his head. Paula started to cling to Ness again. Ness however, recognized what the door was.

 

“Is that a Psycho-Portal?” Ness asked.

 

“Yes indeed greenhorn!” Oleander confirmed. “You are already familiar with Astral Projection?”

 

“Of course I am! Mr. Nein used a Psycho-Portal to pull me into his mind so I could train to control my powers!”

 

“Um… is it… dangerous?” Paula asked as she eyed the tiny door warily.

 

“Don’t worry! It’s not!” Ness reassured. “Nothing’s gonna happen to our bodies!”

 

“Wait… what?”

 

“When we Astral Project, our consciousness leaves our body to enter another’s mind,” Ness explained. Paula backed away, squeezing her teddy bear.

 

“I’m not sure I want to do this…”

 

“Basic Braining is a required course for all new Psy-Cadets!” Oleander barked, his eyes narrow. “I said I’d give you a chance, and now you’re gonna waste it?”

 

Paula looked away guiltily. In response, Ness gave her another reassuring squeeze.

 

“We’ll do this together.”

 

“All right soldiers! Enough delays! We are going off to WAR!” The Psycho-Portal opened with a click, revealing a bright light. Ness closed his eyes, feeling his consciousness pull away from his body. He could feel Paula’s consciousness following closely behind, still radiating nervousness. After going through the Psycho-Portal, the door slammed shut with a click.

            ---

“Ness! Where are we?” Paula’s voice rang through the darkness. Ness blinked, trying to get his bearings. Eventually, the darkness faded away, revealing an office.

 

“Huh… a police office?” Ness answered, though he knew that said answer was far from right. Suddenly, a projector whirred to life behind the pair.

 

“You’re in a recruiting office!” Oleander’s face was suddenly projected on the wall in front. “And I’m recruiting you for the best job in the world! Being a Psychonaut! Are you ready to face torture, insanity, and death? ‘Cuz this is your last chance to chicken out!”

 

Ness turned to Paula. She took a breath, and then placed her teddy bear back into her red satchel. She then faced Oleander, “I’m ready for what you got!”

 

“Bring it on!” Ness grinned, feeling his Psychic energy flare up with his excitement.

 

“Good answer,” Oleander laughed. “Now prove it by socking me square in the jaw!” Remembering Sasha’s lessons, Ness concentrated his Psychic energy into his right fist and threw a punch at the wall. The moment his blue aura connected with Oleander’s face, the wall fell backwards with a crash, revealing a war torn battlefield as far as he could see.

 

“Nice strike soldier!” Oleander called out from a nearby screen. “But now there’s no turning back! You make it through, or you don’t! Onward and upward soldiers!” Oleander’s face then disappeared. Ness turned to Paula, who was eying the surrounding area nervously.

 

“Don’t worry! I’m here.” He offered his hand to her.

 

“Don’t leave me behind, okay?” Paula gratefully took his hand. Both Psychics only took a few steps before the ground was torn apart by an explosion. Paula managed to stop Ness before he fell into the pit.

 

“This isn’t too bad, we can jump over it,” Ness then turned to Paula. “Did one of the counselors teach you how to use your powers to heighten your jumps?”

 

“Yes, Milla even said Psychics can levitate using their powers,” Paula answered. “I never had to use my powers to jump before though.”

 

“And we can use our powers to jump again in the air!” Ness continues, oblivious to Paula’s unease. “Isn’t it cool? Double jumping?” He then deflated when he saw Paula staring at the pit.

 

“Still stuck on the first jump?” Lili walked right past the Eaglelanders and leapt over the pit with ease.

 

“Hey!” Ness snapped. “You don’t have to show off!”

 

“I’m not showing off, anyone can jump,” Lili snarked as she continued forward. Ness growled as he watched Lili. When another explosion created a bigger gap to cross, Lili simply double jumped over it, unhindered.

 

“Paula,” he turned to her, “Everyone here calls you the Twoson Wonder right?”

 

“Yes, but-”

 

“You told me you came here to learn more about your powers,” Ness then gave Paula an encouraging smile. “Don’t be discouraged. I’ll show you how to use your powers to jump good.”

 

As it turned out, Paula was a fast learner. As they continued onwards, Ness noticed Paula started lagging slightly.

 

“What’s wrong?” Ness asked.

 

“I don’t know why Lili’s mad at me,” Paula answered.

 

“Don’t worry about what’s wrong with her,” Ness huffed.

 

“Ness, my Empathy doesn’t work on Lili. She’s able to block out my- EEK!”

 

Ness whirled and brandished his cracked baseball bat. A translucent scarlet image of a vicious burly soldier glowed in front of the Eaglelanders.

 

“Relax- that’s just a figment of my imagination.” Oleander’s voice rang out. Ness took a deep breath, and then bagged his bat. Paula slowly walked to Ness’s side, investigating the image.

 

“You can run right through figments to collect them. They help you rank up, and when you rank up, you earn new Psychic Powers! So whenever you see a figment, suck it up soldiers! Now go and grab that figment!” At Oleander’s explanation, Ness gave Paula a smile.

 

“Ladies first.” Paula hesitantly neared the image. She took a deep breath, and then she dove into the figment. The image dissipated into a puff of scarlet smoke.

 

“Be a figgy piggy! Who’s Coach’s little piggy? Oink! Oink! Oink!” Oleander’s voice taunted as the two Eaglelanders continued on their way through the mindscape battlefield. But the duo quickly came across another stop; a green animate steamer trunk was sobbing before them. Oddly enough, it was sobbing in the coach’s voice.

 

“What are you two staring at? We all have Emotional Baggage. Why don’t you make yourselves use and sort some of it out while in here? Keep an eye out for a tag that matches. Could be anywhere.” After Oleander’s explanation, Ness noticed a green tag floating on the other side of a gap. He went over and picked it up.

 

“There it is. Now you WILL pick up that tag and you WILL put it on that bag that you found.” Ness started to head back. “Unless you would rather give me twenty right now!” Oleander’s sudden shout caused Ness to tumble headfirst into the gap with a yelp.

 

“Ness? Are you okay?” Paula asked as she peered over the edge.

 

“Just peachy,” Ness grumbled as he stood back up, rubbing his sore chin. It was no trouble for Ness to leap out of the pit, and so he held out the tag towards the baggage. At once, the baggage ceased its sobbing. It nuzzled its tag fondly, then flew off and vanished. Ness turned to Paula, who just shrugged in response.

 

“Well, let’s just keep going, there’s a bunch of figments ahead.”

 

The Eaglelander duo continued forward, scaling and descending down ladders and poles, and making sure to collect any figment they could reach. Eventually, they reached the longest ladder yet.

 

“Watch out! Fire down below!” True to Oleander’s warning, the ladder was peppered by flames periodically spewing from four vents.

 

“I’ll go first, and then-” Before Ness could finish explaining his plan; Paula placed her hands on the wall.

 

“PK Freeze!” A sheet of ice coated the wall, covering the vents, but left the rungs of the ladder clear. Ness stared at Paula in amazement. She simply gave a modest smile in response.

 

“Let’s not dawdle. The ice will melt.” The pair made it to the bottom just as the fire managed to burst through the ice. They stood on a wooden platform, a burning rocket in front. A double jump wasn’t enough to clear the large flame.

           

“Huh, what are we supposed to do here?” Ness asked.

 

“Hey Lili!” Ness turned and noticed Paula was looking down. There was solid ground under the platform, and indeed there was Lili.

 

“Oh, you got past the first jump? Congratulations.” Lili snidely remarked, her attention on a strange meaty plant in front of her.

 

“Lili? Did I do something wrong?” Paula then asked in concern. Lili glared upwards for just a brief moment, but then continued focusing on the plant again.

 

“You didn’t do anything, now scram.”

 

“But-”

 

“Let’s just keep going; we’re wasting time.” Ness grumbled, unwilling to spend another moment near Lili. He leapt off the platform, searching for a ladder that would lead him forward. He then paused, and turned to see Paula was still eying Lili in concern.

 

“C’mon Paula! She’s not gonna help us! Forget about her!” Paula gave Ness an admonishing look, but eventually used a ladder (that Ness failed to notice) to catch up to him. Eventually, Ness found the ladder next to a giant army tag. As Ness scaled the ladder, he heard Paula call out to Lili.

 

“Hey, if anything’s bothering you, please don’t hesitate to tell me, okay?”

 

“What are you? My mother? Nothing’s wrong, now get lost.” Paula winced at Lili’s statement.

 

“Ignore her. She’s just being a brat.” Ness paused his climb to call out.

 

“She wasn’t that mean when we met. Why is she acting so angry now?” Paula wondered.

 

“What? She’s nice? Yeah right.” Ness scoffed as he continued upward.

 

“Ness, she shared some of her notes with me to help me study the Psychic powers that can be learned here,” Paula explained as she started to follow. “She’s not a bad person.” Ness simply remained silent as he finished his climb. When he finished the climb, he scanned the path forward. Except there wasn’t any.

 

“Whoa…” The Eaglelander duo gazed at a war torn city far below. Two zeppelins, adorned with wooden platforms, circled around the air in front. Ness heard Paula squeak, and she backed away from the edge of the platform.

 

“Ness… I hate heights…” Paula had taken out her teddy bear again and was hugging it tightly.

 

“You’ll have plenty of time to stand when you’re dead!” Oleander’s voice barked out of nowhere.

 

“Paula, we aren’t gonna die. We’re just in a mental world,” Ness reassured. “Besides, I said I’d help you right?” He offered his hand to her. She met his gaze, and then placing her bear back in her satchel, she took his hand.

 

“Now don’t let go.” The first zeppelin was nearing the platform. “Ready? Now!” Ness and Paula leapt forward and landed. The zeppelin wobbled under their weight, Paula cried out and clung to Ness as the zeppelin stabilized.

 

“That wasn’t so bad,” Ness mused, a blush covering his cheeks at the fact that Paula was holding on to him. He gave her a reassuring massage on her side. Paula eventually calmed down enough to release him, and they jumped to the second zeppelin. Like the first zeppelin, they had to wait until it stabilized so that Paula could be calm enough to jump again. When they reached solid ground again, Paula sat down, relieved. Ness waited until she stood up again.

 

There were no ladders to scale, only cliff faces. Ness’s double jump only allowed him to grasp the edge of the cliff. Grunting with effort, Ness managed to climb over the edge. Paula managed to catch the edge of the cliff with her double jump, but had difficulty climbing up. Ness graciously helped her up. Gathering more figments, the Eaglelander duo came upon some stairs leading over a gap.

 

“Now what?” Ness asked as he looked around for a way to proceed.

 

“Ness, look!” Paula then pointed to the wall on the right. The wall just jutted out enough to let them grasp the edge.

 

“Oh.” Ness jumped up, grabbed the ledge, and started shimmying across the gap. Paula followed close behind.

 

“Are your names Bert and Donna?” Oleander’s face was projected on the wall the Eagleanders were shimmying.

 

“No! My name is Ness!” Ness retorted angrily as he started to shimmy even faster.

 

“Cuz I’m calling you Inert Bert and Dawdling Donna!” Oleander continued, ignoring Ness.

 

“Shut up!”

 

“I can’t hear you Inert Bert!” Oleander taunted with a laugh. And with that, the coach’s image vanished. Ness managed to make it to the other side, and he then pulled himself up. But then he noticed that Paula wasn’t behind him. Looking back over the gap, Ness cried out in alarm. Thanks to his anger at Oleander’s taunts, Paula was left behind on the ledge. And she was losing her grip.

 

“Ness… Help me!” Paula cried out as her fingers slipped. She screamed as she started to fall.

 

“NO!” Ness reached out; his blue Psychic aura took form of a hand and caught Paula before she fell too far. Panting heavily, Ness used his Telekinesis to bring Paula to his position.

 

“I’m sorry,” Ness croaked, ashamed at what almost happened.

 

“It’s okay,” Paula gave Ness a grateful smile. The Eaglelander duo then sat down to take a moment to catch their breaths. Eventually, Paula stood up.

 

“I’m ready to keep going now.”

 

“All right! Let’s finish this obstacle course together!” Ness grinned as he stood up. The Eaglelander duo continued forward until they came across army netting strewn about.

 

“Huh, reminds me of trampolines… I wonder…” Ness went forward and leapt onto the lowest net. Sure enough, he bounced up higher than his regular leap.

 

“Paula! Try this! It’s fun!” Ness laughed as he bounced about higher and higher, catching any figments that floated his way. Paula giggled at Ness’s antics, and followed, making sure to collect the figments Ness missed. At the top, the duo came across a wall covered in netting. As they approached, a sudden explosion blew apart some chunks of the wall. Ness pulled Paula as the pieces barely missed hitting them.

 

“You can climb this kind of wall anyway you want; up, down, sideways, whatever you want. Just get on it!” Oleander voiced barked from nowhere. Paula hesitated, remembering the near miss from earlier. Ness took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

 

“I’m not leaving you behind this time.” Paula smiled at Ness’s promise, and the duo started scaling the wall together. Though explosions caused the Eaglelanders to take some detours as they climbed, they managed to scale the wall. At the top, they found a minefield in front of them.

 

“Watch those mines, kids. They’ll blow you up like a ten-cent kazoo.” Oleander’s voice warned. Ness eyed the figments floating over the mines.

 

“Those aren’t worth the risk,” Paula warned. Ness had to agree. And so, the Eagleander duo cautiously crossed the minefield without collecting any figments. When they reached the other side, they found that a metal door ahead blocked the path ahead.

 

“Onward and upward soldiers!” Oleander’s voice rang out.

 

“Hmm, is there a key for this door?” Ness wondered aloud.

 

“The flag pole?” Paula added, pointing at the pole adorned with a half-raised flag.

 

“I guess so,” Ness agreed, and so he started to scale the pole. As he climbed, the flag rose alongside him. When he raised the flag to the top, the gate opened with a loud groan. “Great find Paula!” Ness thanked his partner.

 

“Oh, but you climbed the pole,” Paula countered, a light blush on her cheeks. Ness leapt down from the pole, and taking Paula’s hand, they entered the building that the gate had sealed. After they passed through the gate, it suddenly slammed shut behind them. Paula then realized what they walked into.

 

“It’s a plane!” She cried out in alarm. The aircraft groaned and started to descend rapidly.

 

“Plane’s going down soldiers!” Oleander’s voice rang out. “Hit that door an Geronimo!” Paula screamed and tightly clung to Ness.

 

“Are you crazy?!” Ness snapped.

 

“Just jump sissies!” Oleander retorted. Ness growled and summoning his Psychic aura, punched the plane door open. Air started to rush out of the room. Paula whimpered and buried her face into Ness’s chest as the wind threatened to pull them from the room.

 

“Don’t worry Paula, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” Ness promised as he lifted Paula, carrying her bridal style. Paula squeaked as Ness carried her.

 

“Ness! You’re not going to really jump are you?!” She asked in alarm.

 

“Either we jump and get kicked out of Oleander’s mind, or the plane crashes and we get kicked out of Oleander’s mind. I’d rather not wait for the plane to crash,” Ness answered. He then gave Paula a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I told you earlier, we can’t die in a mental world. I won’t let anything happen.” Paula was silent, and then she buried her face into his chest again as she clung onto Ness tightly.

 

“Tell me when it’s over.”

 

“I will.” And with that, Ness leapt out the door with Paula in tow.

            ---

After falling for what felt like forever, Ness finally saw the ground. He landed feet first into a snowdrift, scattering snow everywhere. Ness took a deep breath, and then started talking gently to the girl in his arms.

 

“Paula, it’s okay. We’re done falling now.” Paula slowly loosened her grip and started to look around. Ness waited until Paula finished surveying their surroundings; they had landed into what looked like a wintry fenced training area. In the middle was a large red button with a palm decorating it. The button was surrounding by two rows of thin holes: seven in the inner row and eight on the outer row. The outer row’s holes were spaced farther apart than the inner row’s holes.

 

“I’m ready to start walking again Ness,” Paula announced. Ness gently lowered her to the ground. She then took his hand, and the two walked forward to find the exit. Naturally, they found a metal wheel-sliding gate barring the way.

 

“You two soldiers want to press onward? You can’t without completing a challenge!” Oleander’s face appeared on the fence near the shack in front of the gate. “You two got sixty seconds to score a total of thirty points. But if you hit the wrong target, you lose a point. Hit that button whenever you’re ready.” Paula started hugging her teddy bear again.

 

“He’s making us learn how to hurt people.” She pouted.

 

“Paula, if you aren’t comfortable with this, let me handle it. You can wait by the exit while I complete the challenge,” Ness offered. His offer didn’t make Paula any happier, but she walked over to the gate. Ness then headed to the button, brandishing his bat.

 

“Hey slugger! The only weapon you can use here is your fists!” Oleander admonished. Ness glared at the coach’s projection, but reluctantly put his bat back into his backpack. Ness steeled himself, and then mustering his Psychic aura, he leapt into the air, and stomped on the button. Immediately, cardboard cutouts of hostile soldiers started popping out of the holes. Ness wasted no time smashing them with Psy-powered punches. As the seconds ticked down, Ness was sure he had the challenge in the bag. But then he struck a green baby target.

 

“What?!” Ness cried out in alarm. Now, the targets were popping out and retreating even faster. Ness found himself unable to keep up, and was striking the wrong target more than once.

 

“TIME’S UP! You failed!” Oleander called out. “What a disappointment.”

 

“I demand a do-over!” Ness retorted angrily.

 

“You got spunk soldier. Hit that button when you’re ready to try again.” Ness headed back to the button.

 

“Ness wait!” Paula then approached him. “I’ll make sure you don’t hit the wrong targets.”

 

“I dunno, I might hit you by accident.” Ness answered.

 

“I’ll make sure to stay out of your way.” Paula countered. She then walked to the outer row. “Whenever you’re ready!”

 

“Okay, at the count of three. One- Two-” Ness then leapt into the air, “-THREE!” Ness stomped on the button again. The targets started popping up again. Ness went on a smashing spree, and whenever a baby target appeared, Paula would use her Telekinesis to stop him from striking it. But then the hostile targets started retreating faster.

 

“TIME’S UP!” Oleander announced again. “Give up yet?”

 

“Of course not!” Ness refused to admit defeat, a plan formulating in his head. He turned to Paula.

 

“Paula, the only way we can keep going is if you help me break targets.” Ness implored.

 

“Ness! I don’t want to learn how to hurt people!” Paula cried out, feeling betrayed at Ness’s plan.

 

“I know you don’t like fighting, but sometimes, we gotta fight to protect ourselves and anyone we care for.” Ness approached Paula and placed his hands on her shoulders. “What if someone tried to hurt the preschoolers you help teach back at Twoson? What would you do?” Paula fought back tears as she answered Ness’s question.

 

“I’d want to protect them.”

 

“How will you protect them?”

 

“I- I would-” Paula found herself unable to answer Ness’s question, conflicted at the idea of using violence.

 

“Imagine if I was a bad guy, and I wanted to hurt you. C’mon hit me! I’m gonna take your parents’ students away, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” Ness was starting to shake her. “Imagine if I was one the those Happy Happyists you told me about! I just took you from your family, and now I’m going to sacrifice you!”

 

“Ness, STOP IT!” Paula slapped Ness’s cheek with a hand made of her Pink Psychic aura. His grip loosened, Ness staggered backwards. The hit stung, but was not serious. He rubbed his sore cheek as he stared at Paula in awe.

 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry Ness!” Paula apologized at what she did.

 

“Your partner’s right. You can’t expect to achieve much if you let other’s stomp all over you.” Oleander announced. Paula looked down at the ground still conflicted.

 

“Paula, I noticed that you let the meaner campers walk all over you,” Ness approached her, smiling gently. “You don’t deserve to get treated like that. You gotta learn to stand up for yourself.” Paula sighed, then looked up, her blue eyes meeting Ness’s violet.

 

“All right, I’ll break the targets you can’t reach.”

 

“Okay.” The duo took their positions. “On the count of three!”

 

 This time, the Eaglelanders managed to clear the training challenge, with ten seconds to spare.

 

“Not bad at all soldiers,” Oleander complimented as the gate opened. His face vanished from the fence after he finished speaking. Ness gave Paula a proud smile, and then held out his hand to her. She took it, and the two walked through the now open gate. As they were leaving the training area, the pair came across an animate teal safe.

 

“Most people have something to hide,” Oleander’s voice rang out. “They store away their shame, their dirty little secrets, in these tiny vaults in their minds. But the enemy isn’t allowed any secrets in wartime, are they soldiers? So go ahead and bust open this vault. I got nothing to hide.” As the Eaglelander duo approached the vault, it started trying to flee. However, there was no escape route for the vault, so Ness caught it and managed to smash it open easily.

 

“Ah, good! Go and enjoy it! That is one of my favorites!” Oleander’s voice chimed with pride as Ness pulled out a memory reel. Ness and Paula than settled down and began to view the reel, which was titled “Oleander’s Pride.”

 

“Wow, Oleander used to have longer legs?” Ness asked aloud with a chuckle.

 

_‘Ness, something doesn’t add up.’_

 

“Huh?” Ness gave Paula a baffled look.

 

_‘Shhh! I’m using Telepathy to keep this private. One’s legs don’t shrink over time Ness!’_ Ness fell silent at Paula’s thought.

 

“Oh well,” Ness shrugged and placed the memory back in the safe. “Let’s just keep going.” But then the pair heard a strange sound.

 

“Who’s blowing a balloon?” Ness asked as he brandished his bat.

 

“Ness! Look!” Paula was approaching a green and orange bug-like creature.

 

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be the cautious one?”

 

“I don’t sense anything dangerous about it.” As Paula kneeled toward the bug, it buzzed and made blowing sounds. “It’s offering to take us back to the Trenches.”

 

“Wow, it can teleport us?” Ness asked as he put his bat away, impressed.

 

“Apparently,” Paula replied. She then told the bug, “No thank you, we don’t have anything to do in the Trenches.” The bug nodded, and Paula stood up and rejoined Ness. A giant cutout of a hostile soldier blocked the way.

 

“Allow me!” Ness punched the cutout, and it fell backwards, allowing the pair to continue on in the wintry warzone. They walked through a large field towards an inert cannon. “Huh,” Ness mused as he watched some white bunnies dart to and fro in the field. “Kinda expected something to shoot at us.” When he didn’t hear a response from Paula, he turned to her, and found her playing with some of the rabbits. At the sight, Ness felt his cheeks warm. Paula was certainly the cutest girl in the camp in his opinion. But he wasn’t going to admit that to anyone.

 

“C’mon Paula, we can’t stay here too long.”

 

“I know.” Paula sighed as she placed a rabbit back on the ground. Making sure to gather the figments littering the field, the Eagleland duo approached the cannon. They scaled a ladder on its side, and found an entrance atop the bunker. When they jumped through the hole, they had to readjust to a change in gravity.

 

They were now in a metal tunnel. In the room up ahead, another flagpole stood in front of a metal gate. Ness wasted no time raising the flag to the top of the pole. The gate opened, revealed a crimson tunnel. Ness leapt though the gate to investigate. The moment he landed in the tunnel, he started sliding.

 

“Whoa!” Ness cried out as he struggled to stay upright as he slid downward.

 

“Ness wait for me!” Paula jumped after him and started sliding as well. She let out a cry as gravity pulled her after Ness. Ness turned and struggled to slow himself. He reached a hand toward Paula. She noticed his gesture and pushed herself to reach him. The duo grabbed hands and continued sliding down the tunnel together, gathering some figments along the way. The slide eventually dropped them near a ruined wall peppered with poles. A vent periodically spewed fire near the top of the wall.

 

“You can grab poles and swing on ‘em,” Oleander’s face appeared on a screen at the base of the wall. “It’s all about upper body strength, you know. Hrrr!” Oleander vanished after finishing his sentence. Paula eyed the wall nervously.

 

“Ness, we won’t be able to scale that.”

 

“I wish I took some gymnastics,” Ness grumbled as he eyed the wall. But then he remembered something from earlier. “Hey Paula, think you can use your ice power to make some steps?”

 

“I’m not sure. I haven’t used my Cyrokinesis that extensively ever.”

 

“It’s better than nothing though.” Ness observed the wall. “Tell you what, if we can reach half way, then I can lift you up using Telekinesis. Then you can pull me up using your TK.”

 

“That’s actually a good idea Ness.” Paula smiled. She then walked to the wall. After a moment of planning, she called out. “PK Freeze!” Paula created a block of ice that the pair could scale with a double jump. After the Eaglelanders stood on top of the block, Paula coated the poles on the middle of the wall with ice to create a thick enough platform to stand on. The duo jumped onto the new ledge, and Paula froze the vent. Ness than telekinetically lifted her past the vent. After he placed her on a solid platform, she pulled him up with her Telekinesis. Paula managed to pull Ness to her location just as the flames resumed bursting from the vent.

 

“Wow.” The pair faced a second wall; only this wall had more flame spewing vents. Luckily, it wasn’t as tall as the previous one. The pair smiled at each other, and used their prior strategy to scale this wall as well. As they stood on the grated platform, Ness looked around.

 

“Now where do we go?” He heard a crack and saw Paula had used a Psi-punch to break the wall. He stared in shock.

 

“Ness, the wall was broken,” Paula explained matter of factly.

 

“Oh, I knew that,” Ness replied, his cheeks red. The pair continued through the path Paula uncovered and found a glistening violet web in front of them.

 

“That’s a Mental Cobweb. You can collect them with a specialized piece of equipment once you get checked out on it. Until then, just steer clear of ‘em.” Oleander’s voice rang out. Over the cobweb were a series of ropes.

 

“I guess we have to use those ropes to climb higher,” Ness mused as he looked upward. He then heard Paula whimper. Realization struck. “Oh crap! Paula I’m sorry, I forgot!”

 

“I can’t go any further,” Paula sobbed. “We’re so high up already…”

 

“The end can’t be much further! We can make it!” Ness encouraged. “We can do it together!” Ness looked up at the ropes. “Maybe we can balance on those ropes like a tightrope walker?” He jumped up, grabbed the lowest rope, and climbed up. “Whoa!” Ness waved his arms as he tried to find balance. “Hey! It’s not too bad! Yikes!” Ness promptly fell off and landed in front of Paula with a thud.

 

“Are you okay?” Paula raced over and helped Ness up to his feet.

 

“I’m okay,” Ness answered as he shook away the dizziness. “Man, those circus performers make it so easy.”

 

“I guess we’ll keep using my Cyrokinesis then?” A few blocks of ice later, Ness and Paula reached the top. After breaking down another wall, the pair came across the most challenging area of the obstacle course yet: floating wooden platforms and broken airplanes floated ahead. Littered between them were trapeze bars.

 

“Most cadets can’t handle the trapeze.” Oleander’s voice rang out. “You might want to stay away from it. You’ll still get participation ribbons at the end of camp…” Ness turned to Paula.

 

“Let’s just keep making our own path.” Using her Cyrokinesis bit by bit, Paula built a spectacular frozen bridge.

 

“We’re halfway there! Just a bit-” Ness then heard Paula panting heavily. “Paula! You okay?”

 

“Don’t worry,” Paula smiled despite her exhaustion. “I just never had to use PK Freeze this much.” Suddenly, the bridge shook with a loud crack.

 

“What the?!” Ness turned back and saw an orange wild bundle of hair near the starting point of the bridge. “Hey Slackjaw! Don’t you dare-”

 

Bobby cackled and smashed the ice. Paula screamed as the bridge started to fall. Ness quickly scooped her up bridal style and double jumped. It wasn’t enough to clear the remaining distance. Desperate, Ness telekinetically tossed Paula towards a gap in the wall. She landed safely near a Mental Cobweb. Ness smiled as he started to plummet into the abyss. At least Paula was safe- he suddenly felt something break his fall. He looked up and saw Paula had caught him using her Telekinesis. She pulled him up to her side.

 

“Don’t do that again!” She sobbed as she hugged him. Ness wanted to say something, but couldn’t. Instead, he returned her hug.

 

“See you later losers!” Bobby taunted as he levitated past the Eagleander duo. And with an obnoxious laugh, he was rail grinding away.

 

“I’m gonna break that’s guys teeth out once I catch up to him,” Ness growled as he watched Bobby leave.

 

“Wow!” Paula cried out in awe, staring at something in the distance… or rather, someone. There was Raz, goggles over his eyes, swinging through the trapeze with ease. Ness bristled at Paula’s admiring gaze towards Raz. Eventually, Raz reached the platform next to the gap the Eaglelanders were stranded in.

 

“Hey there! I saw what Bobby did to you two. Who was the one who made that ice bridge?” Raz called.

 

“I did!” Paula proudly admitted.

 

“That was an amazing display of Cyrokinesis! In other words, it was pretty cool!” Raz praised. “Paula right?”

 

“You remember me now?” Paula asked dreamily. Ness felt a burning sensation in his gut as he felt Paula’s empathy project her feelings of infatuation towards Raz.

 

“Sorry, I still don’t remember ever meeting you Paula,” Raz admitted sheepishly as he rubbed his head. “Anyways, you two need some help?”

 

“No we don’t!” Ness kept Paula from answering as he double jumped to the platform Raz was on. “I warned you, stay away from her,” Ness slowly walked towards Raz, ready to push him into the abyss below.

 

“Ness, stop it! Leave him alone!” Paula cried out. Ness ignored her.

 

“Calm down, I was only offering,” Raz held out his hands in appeasement. “What’s your problem?”

 

“He’s just jealous!” Paula explained.

 

“Oh!” Raz then looked between the two Eaglelanders. “I see now! Are you two dating?”

 

“Hell no!” Ness roared in response. “That crap’s a waste of time! Quit teasing!”

 

“Ness-” But Ness continued to ignore Paula.

 

“You think you’re so talented huh? Let’s see who gets to the end of this obstacle course first then!” Ness stepped onto the rails and began the trip to the end of the level. After a few seconds of rail grinding and figment collecting, he noticed Raz was following. Ness smirked, “I thought you chickened out.”

 

“A Psychonaut never backs down from a challenge!” Raz retorted.

 

“End of the line, sucker!” The two boys looked ahead and saw Bobby blocking the way.

 

“End of the line for YOU!” Ness roared as he sent Bobby into the abyss with a psychic powered punch. As Bobby’s scream faded, Ness and Raz continued forward (Ness heard Raz make a strange chant when he passed the place Bobby was). Eventually they entered a metal gate, which then closed behind them.

            ---

The grind rails led Ness and Raz to a tunnel, where a teleporting bug was stationed. The boys ignored the bug as they raced forward, footsteps clanging on the metal floor. Eventually, the tunnel led into a large room. The room’s walls and ceilings were line with moving blades, and barbed wire logs floated in the air. A path was barely visible under the logs.

 

“Ah, the ol’ rolling tunnel of crazy logs bit!” Oleander’s voice rang out. “An old one, but a hard one! What you gotta do is… “ Oleander chuckled darkly, then burst out laughing. “Ah who we kiddin’? You’re never gonna make it through that!” As Oleander laughed, Ness dashed ahead.

 

“We’ll see about that!” The moment Ness stepped on the path, the logs and path started to rotate. The movement caught Ness off guard, and he fell off the path into the blades below. Ness screamed as his astral projection was sliced in half.

 

Ness found himself at the beginning of the room after he respawned from his previous blunder. He looked and saw Raz was far ahead on the path. Raz then faced him and smirked. Ness gritted his teeth, and ran onto the path again. The logs and path began to roll again. Ness braced himself to keep from falling, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Raz casually continuing on the path with ease. Ness tried to take a short cut by leaping over a log. It failed, and Ness found himself at the path’s beginning again. Ness then realized the secret; one had to waiting patiently for the path to right itself! Ness bristled as he realized why Raz was so smug; Raz had beaten him to the end.

 

By the time Ness reached the end of the path, Raz had started rail grinding down the final stretch. Despite knowing that he had lost, Ness was still determined to finish the course. The rails led the Ness to a large room. The room had a stage that was adorned with serach lights, barbed wire logs, combat knives, army dog tags, and in the middle, a banner decorated with a brain. Raz was calling out in the middle.

 

“Hello? Hello? Guess I’m early.” Raz then noticed Ness had entered. “You’re early, too,” Raz grinned cheekily.

 

“Shut up,” Ness grumbled as he sat down, mentally exhausted.

 

“Hey, what’s that?” Raz then asked. Ness ignored him, or tried to. Ness noticed Raz walking into a white hallway. Ness followed him, struck by curiosity. At the end of the hallway, the boys found a red curtain. Raz lifted his goggles off his eyes, and prepared to open the curtains.

 

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE BOYS!” The two boys found themselves telekinetically yanked out of the hallway by a furious Oleander. “Now just what in the sam hill do you think you were doing in there?”

 

“It wasn’t my idea!” Ness argued. He pointed at Raz. “He went in first!”

 

“I was just looking for a way out.” Raz defended himself.

 

“Oh,” Oleander calmed down. “Sorry about that.” The coach placed the boys on solid ground. “Didn’t think you’d get to the end so fast. Dang, I didn’t think you’d get to the end at all!” Oleander admitted. “You two surprised me out there.” Oleander waved his crop over his left hand. Two glistening Merit Badges materialized in his hand. “You two earned these.”

 

The badges floated over to the boys. Ness simply took his the moment it was close enough for him to reach it. Raz at first stood stunned, but then recovered and took his badge.

 

“Your first PSYCHONAUT MERIT BADGE!” Oleander smiled proudly at Raz. Ness rolled his eyes. Oleander then turned to Ness, who was preparing to be returned to the real world. “Didn’t you have a partner?” Ness blinked, than realization struck.

 

“OH CRAP! PAULA!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You had one task Ness!


	3. Chapter 2: Morning Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ness does some stuff before heading to Sasha's Secret Lab.

Ness fell onto his rump right after returning to the real world. All around him, his fellow campmates were leaving the tree house. He didn’t see Paula among them.

“I’m always glad to see soldiers come back from the field alive.” Ness flinched and quickly stood up at the sound of Oleander’s voice. The coach was addressing him and Raz. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go back in. I left some men back there.” After he finished speaking, Oleander then resumed his trance. Raz turned and started to leave.

“Thanks a lot Gogglehead,” Ness growled when Raz walked past him.

“You’re welcome for what?” Raz asked, whirling around to face Ness.

“Thanks to you, I lost Paula!”

“Hey! You’re the one who challenged me!” Raz countered. But before Ness could retort, someone else interrupted.

“Way to make us look bad in there!” The arguing boys turned and saw a furious Benny Fidelio glaring at both of them. “You’re in trouble now! Bobby Zilch ain’t happy!” Bobby then shoved Benny aside and glared at Ness and Raz.

“You two better watch yourselves,” Bobby sneered. 

“Butt out!” Ness growled. He then took a battle stance. “Unless you’re asking for another ass-kicking!”

“What’s that, Hair Boy?” Raz walked up to Bobby. “You want a piece of me?”

“Hey braniacs. Settle down.” Lili Zanatto ordered coolly. Ness was about to verbally lash at her, but was beaten to the punch.

“Why?” Bobby turned his sneer at Lili. “You worried I’m gonna hurt your boyfriend?” Raz was caught off guard at Bobby’s question.

“No, because Sasha Nein is standing right behind you,” Lili answered with a smirk. She then took her leave. Ness froze, and then looked behind Bobby and Raz. True to Lili’s word, Sasha was standing behind them, calmly smoking a cigarette. The German Counselor then addressed Raz.

“Your performance, young cadet, was outstanding. I’d like you to report to my lab for some advanced training.” As Sasha was speaking to Raz, Bobby and Benny took the chance to leave.

“Oooh, Raz the Spaz is gonna be in the “special” class!” Bobby mocked. “Benny, remind me to give him a “special” beating, okay?” Raz rolled his eyes at Bobby’s threat.

“These tests are unauthorized, though, so I can’t actually you ask to come. But if you happened to drop in, well, what could I do? Let me just give you this…” Sasha telekinetically sent a red button into Raz’s palm. “Remember: your talent will always set you apart, Razputin.” Raz eyed the button curiously, and then looked back at the departing Sasha.

“Sometimes, isolation is a good thing. It can lead to important discoveries.” Sasha then levitated out of the tree house. Raz eyed the button again, and then he called out.

“Wait! I don’t even know where your lab is!” Raz looked around. “Is this some kind of test?” He then flinched, and eyes narrowed, scanned his surroundings again. “And now I’m hearing things. Great.”

“Well, if you’re so smart, you could find Mr. Nein’s secret lab easily,” Ness huffed as he started to leave the tree house. He had to find Paula and apologize to her for leaving her behind. Ness reached the bottom of the ramp leading up to the tree house when he heard a familiar voice.

“Leave me alone Nils, I’m not in a good mood.” Paula was clutching her teddy bear tightly as she tried to walk away from Nils.

“Then why don’t you let me show you a good time?” Nils asked flirtatiously. Ness bristled. Nils clearly didn’t learn his lesson from last night. Ness started to head over to chase Nils off.

“I said leave- me- alone!” Paula then blasted Nils with a gust of ice. Nils cried out and dashed away, rubbing off the ice crystals that formed on his nose. Ness took the moment to approach Paula.

“Wow! You showed him!” Ness gave Paula a proud smile. Which was quickly wiped off by the glare she gave him. “Umm, look, I’m sorry I left you behind in Basic Braining.” 

“You promised.” Paula retorted.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“You promised to help me reach the end.” Paula emphasized. She then turned away from Ness, hugging her teddy bear even tighter. “You broke that promise because you were jealous of Raz.” Ness was immediately on the defensive.

“I’m not jealous!”

“Yes you are! You’re not happy that I have another friend in the camp who’s a boy!” Paula snapped.

“He’s not just a friend! You like-like him!” Ness retorted.

“Hey, have you two seen Milka, Dogen, or Elka?” Vernon Tripe’s low voice interrupted.

“Butt out! We’re busy!” Ness shouted.

“A simple no would have been a good enough answer,” Vernon drawled. “Also, your arguing reminds me of a story-”

“Sorry Vernon, I’d like to listen to your story, but I have some studying to do.” Paula then turned to Ness. “Please do NOT bother me until afternoon.” Paula then raced into the Girls’ cabin and slammed the door behind her. Ness groaned and stormed off towards the Main Cabin Area ignoring Vernon droning on about the most important argument in the world.

Ness entered the Main Lodge hoping for a snack to cheer himself up. “Are the burgers ready yet?” He asked the cook, who looked suspiciously like the ranger.

“No, I don’t have to charcoal to cook ‘em. Charcoal’s on back order son.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Ness yelled out, causing Milka Phage to turn invisible. “What can I eat then?!”

“All we have are Dream Fluffs,” the cook answered. “Now please don’t yell like that again!”

“Fine,” Ness groaned, “I’ll eat anything at this point.”

“Fifty Arrowheads for one Dream Fluff.” Ness reached into his pocket and pulled out three arrowheads.

“Crap,” Ness groused. He quickly took back the arrowheads. “Can you hold the Dream Fluff for me?” Ness then left the Main Lodge to find more arrowheads.

\---

Ness’s search for arrowheads for the next hour didn’t go well. Ness couldn’t search around the Main Lodge because Mikhail Bulgakov was prowling around looking for a wrestling partner. At the shore of Lake Oblongata, Elton was busy talking to the fish, and Ness didn’t feel like arguing with him about dating and relationships. And finally, telekinetic bears chased Ness away from the Forest and Reception areas. In total, he was only able to find seven more arrowheads.

Ness let out a groan as he slowly trudged back to the Kids’ Cabins Area. He knew that he had to see Sasha soon for his Marksmanship training, but he was so hungry, he didn’t feel up to it. He thought he could smell the scent of his mother’s homemade steak, and sighed, missing home. Suddenly, Ness felt something white slap his face, knocking him on his rump.

“Hey! Bobby! Buzz off- Huh?” A packaged sandwich had landed in his hands. Elated, Ness quickly tore the bagging open and started stuffing himself. “Thank you Sandwich Gods!” Ness cried out with a mouth full of sandwich. After finishing the treat, Ness felt like the luckiest kid in the world. He stood up and stretched. And then he headed for the Geodesic Psychoisolation Chamber in the Forest.

Time to earn his Marksmanship Merit Badge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, wish him luck!


	4. Chapter 3: Sasha's Shooting Gallery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ness has to attend Sasha Nein's Marksmanship Lesson, but with Raz present, will he be able to prove earn his Merit Badge?

“Mr. Nein, I’m here for my lessons-” Ness than froze when he caught sight of Raz in the laboratory. “Why is he here?”

 

“Perfect timing Ness,” Sasha looked up at Ness. “Please join us.” Ness slowly descended down the stairs, glaring at Raz all the while.

 

“Seriously, why is that Gogglehead here?” Ness asked again.

 

“For Marksmanship training,” Raz answered smugly. “Got a problem with that?”

 

“Plenty!” Ness started towards Raz, but then felt himself pushed back.

 

“Ness, please, I told you not to fight anymore of your campmates.” Sasha admonished. He then addressed both boys. “Now boys, prepare yourselves.” Sasha took out his Psycho-Portal. But before he could place it on his forehead, Ness started to leave. “Ness, where are you going?”

 

“I’m not taking any classes if Gogglehead’s in ‘em,” Ness curtly replied.

 

“That’s too bad. I was hoping to see if you’ve improved since you were able to complete Morry’s class.” Ness quickly whirled around and raced in front of Sasha.

 

“Of course I managed to get my powers under control! Let me in! I’ll show you! I’ll show the both of you!” Ness glared up at Sasha.

 

“Excellent,” Sasha then telekinetically placed his Psycho-Portal on his forehead. The door opened, it’s familiar white light pulling Ness’s consciousness away. Out of the corner of his eye, Ness saw Raz lowering his goggles as he was pulled into Sasha’s mind.

            ---

Ness took a deep breath; Sasha’s mind consisted of a large cube with its six sides decorated in different pieces of abstract art. It was quiet and peaceful at the moment. Near him, Sasha was welcoming Raz into his mind.

 

“Huh, it’s so empty,” Raz commented as his lifted his goggles to better take in his surroundings. When Sasha eyed him, he backpedaled, “Uh, I mean-”

 

“There’s more here than meets the eye, but I’ve learned to keep it under strict control,” Sasha lectured as he walked a few paces. Raz and Ness followed as he continued talking. “And that’s what I’m going to teach you, control.” He turned toward Raz. “Your feelings, your fears, your anger. You must learn to control them, focus them, concentrate them, and release them.”

 

“As therapy?” Raz inquired. Ness snickered at Raz’s question. Raz turned and shot him a glare.

 

“No. As firepower!” Sasha interjected before the boys would start arguing. “Say something hideous and horrible jumps out at you. Something so disgusting that is simply must die.” Sasha stepped on a hidden switch. With a whir and a pop, a tacky tiffany lamp popped out in front of the group.

 

“Ahhh, oh, so tacky…” Sasha held his hand over his eyes and averted his gaze in disgust, “… I… can’t… look directly at it! But I control those feelings,” he faced Raz, “Focus them, concentrate,” Sasha pointed his right pointer finger to his forehead, “and… release!” A blue Psi-Blast burst out and the lamp was no more. “And the world is a better place.” He then faced Raz with an encouraging smile. “Your turn.”

 

Three more lamps popped out of the ground. Raz quickly pulled his goggles over his eyes and fired three orange Psi-blasts to make quick work of them.

 

“Well done Raz. A victory for good taste,” Sasha complimented. The German counselor then turned to Ness, who had fallen silent the entire time Raz was being tutored. “Your turn Ness.” Three more lamps popped up (Sasha groaning in disgust as they appeared). Ness smirked and placing his right pointer finger to his forehead, he focused and fired a Psi-Blast at the lamps. Ness’s Psi-Blast was different from Sasha and Raz’s Psi-Blasts. While their Psi-Blasts consisted of a single block of color, Ness’s Psi-Blast was a ripple of three colors: red, yellow, and blue. Another difference was that just one was able to destroy all three tiffany lamps; unlike the previous Psi-Blasts, Ness’s Psi-Blasts exploded in a burst of energy when they connected. Ness smirked when he saw Raz’s shocked expression at his display of power. But then Sasha spoke.

 

“I can see a marked improvement Ness, but you still don’t have enough control,” Sasha assessed. “You noticed Raz’s control as he was firing, right?” Ness ignored Raz smirking at him and grudgingly answered.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Good, now let’s practice precision firing.” Needless to say, Raz’s Psi-Blasts were more accurate than Ness’s. Ness struggled to push down the feelings of envy bubbling in his gut.

 

After a few rounds Psi-Blasting lamps, Sasha decided his students were ready for hostile moving targets. A dial with seven settings listed from one-to-skull emerged from the cube. It’s adjuster was set to “one.” A valve emerged shortly afterwards, spewing out a strange glasses and suited manlike creature onto a platform that had risen nearby. The creature held a red stamp and was constantly uttering “No!”

 

“Is this what you saw in your vision?” Sasha asked Raz.

 

“Um, well, it sure seemed a lot bigger in my head,” Raz answered uncertainly.

 

“Ah, problems often seem larger in our heads than they really are. That’s an important lesson to learn,” Sasha replied to counter Raz’s uncertainty. He then explained what was standing on the platform before Raz could say anything.

 

“This is a Censor. An integral part of any sane person’s mind. The Censors roam your psyche, looking for thoughts that don’t belong. Hallucinations, manias, waking dreams- the Censors hunt them down and censor them out.”

 

“Why do they come after me? I’m not a mania!” Raz queried.

 

“Yes, but you are a foreign entity in my mind. You technically don’t belong here,” Sasha answered.

 

“So these guys will come after me, too?” Ness then asked.

 

“That’s correct Ness. Good to see you have been listening.” Ness couldn’t help but smile. Any praise from Sasha was good to hear.

 

“But I was attacked in my own head,” Raz interjected.

 

“Yes. Well, the Brain Tumbler could be malfunctioning,” Sasha mused. “Or you could be insane.” Ness started snickering again.

 

“Ness, mental illness is no laughing matter.” Ness quickly stifled himself. Sasha then addressed Raz, “We’ll test for that later. For now, blast it.” Raz quickly complied and Psi-Blasted the Censor off the platform.

 

“That’s the spirit.” Sasha praised Raz.

 

“I killed it,” Raz answered.

 

“It was just a thought I was having. And it’s not dead. It has just returned to its basic form-” a blue sphere floated onto the platform, “Raw psychic energy. Go absorb it. It’s good for your mental health.” Raz complied.

 

“As you absorb this energy, your mental health increases. But as you Psi-Blast, you expend your will to do damage,” Sasha lectured. A rapidly bouncing orange sphere then appeared. “So be on the lookout for these small, dense clusters of psychic aggression. Absorb these as well to make sure you always have enough firepower.” Sasha then turned to leave.

 

“Now I’ll leave the machine on for the both of you, so you two can practice. You both have to blast one thousand Censors each so that you can earn your Marksmanship Merit Badges. Come back every day for practice, and you two should have enough in as little as three weeks!”

 

“Three weeks?!” Raz exclaimed. “I only have a few days to earn ALL my merit badges and become a Psychonaut! And Nessie here can blast more Censors than I can!”

 

“Too bad for you then,” Ness scoffed unsympathetically.

 

“Slow and steady wins the race my eager young friend,” Sasha cautioned. “Now practice. Slowly and carefully.” And Sasha vanished through an air hatch after leaving his advice for Ness and Raz.

 

“You snooze you lose!” Ness called out to Raz as he started Psi-Blasting Censors. Ness’s explosive Psi-Blasts made quick work of any Censor that emerged from the valve. But as he continued Psi-Blasting Censors, Ness noted that they weren’t spawning fast enough. ‘Maybe I should adjust the dial’s setting-’ Ness’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted when the cube started shaking with a loud groan. A loud crash erupted from the other side of the cube, and then Ness heard a great a chorus of “No!” A large group of Censors started charging toward him from the other side of the cube.

 

“Oh yeah! Come to poppa!” Before Ness could say anything to Raz, Sasha Nein suddenly dropped in from a hatch.

 

“Boys, what have you done? This is not control! This is chaos!” Sasha admonished.

 

“I didn’t touch anything!” Ness defended.

 

“I’ll try to fix it. You two stay here and keep their numbers under control!” After giving the order, Sasha dove into a hatch and vanished. Ness glared at Raz.

 

“Nice going Gogglehead.”

 

“I was just trying to get more Censors to blast! You kept hogging them all!” Raz argued.

 

“Whatever!” Ness snapped as he started toward the other side of the cube, Psi-Blasting three Censors that tried to stamp him along the way. Raz was quick to follow.

 

When the boys reached their destination, they were impressed by what they saw. The source of the crash was the emergence of a bed and various boxes surrounding it, some of the boxes were floating in the air. The scene was peppered with Figments of various colors, and Censors prowling about. In a corner a long valve adorned with a red target and green light was poking out. Sasha then emerged from another air hatch.

 

“Boys, see those valves? That is where the Censors are leaking out. Psi-Blast the valves to shut them down and get this area under control!” Sasha dove back into his hatch.

 

“So there are more than one valves huh?” Ness then eyed Raz. “Whoever Psi-Blasts more valves wins!” He challenged.

 

“You’re on!” Raz accepted Ness’s challenge, and the two boys dashed forward, Psi-Blasting away any Censors that tried to approach and collecting any figments along the way.

 

On the bed, a Memory Vault was running in circles. Ness ignored the vault, eager to reach the valve before Raz. Ness just Psi-Blasted the valve and then noticed Raz had punched the vault open.

 

“Hey! Aren’t we in the middle of a competition?” Ness called. “It’s kinda unfair if your opponent lets you take all the points!”

 

“Give me a moment!” Raz answered as he was reading the memory reel he retrieved from the vault. Ness, overcome with curiosity approached. He looked over Raz’s shoulder.

 

“If you wanted to look, you could just ask,” Raz snarked as he handed the reel to Ness. The reel was titled “Sasha’s First Loss.” Ness fell silent as he read through Sasha’s memory. The memory showed Sasha as an infant being cared for by a beautiful woman: his mother. Sasha’s mother had passed away due to an illness when he was young. As Ness finished reading the memory, he remembered his mother. He was broken out of reverie by a loud clanging sound. Raz had just Psi-Blasted another valve shut.

 

“Are you keeping track? I think the score’s now 1 to 1,” Raz smirked as he took the memory reel from Ness and placed it in his red and yellow satchel. Before Ness could respond, Sasha reappeared.

 

“Well, good, you got them all,” Sasha then retreated back into his air hatch before the boys could say anything.

 

The cube shuddered again. Then bit-by-bit, the bed and the boxes were all pulled back into the cube. The boys didn’t get a chance to catch their breath however, because they heard something had emerged from another side of the cube.

 

“Oh no,” Sasha returned yet again. “You close one leak down and another springs up! Well come on! We got to take care of these too!” Sasha then left again. The boys headed to where the clanging had come from. What had emerged were a series of platforms, six of which were pillars of varying heights adorned with translucent glowing discs. Floating above the platforms was a large mobile. Figments were littered around the platforms and on the cubes surface. The valve meanwhile, jutted from near the base of the third tallest pillar.

 

A new type of Censor was leaping around the six pillars. This Censor was bigger and carried a clipboard listed with X’s. When the Censor saw Ness and Raz approaching, it fired a red shot from its mouth. The two boys sidestepped the projectile easily. Ness started toward the valve, collecting figments along the way. Raz easily kept up, and managed to Psi-Blast the valve first.

 

“2 to 1,” Raz counted. Another valve then emerged next to the lowest platform. Ness dashed towards it and managed to blast it shut.

 

“2 to 2!” Ness grinned. Letting lose pent up aggression through Psi-Blasts was actually pretty refreshing and fun. With a loud clang and a shudder, the platforms and the mobile were withdrawn into the cube. But the shaking didn’t stop, for something else had emerged from another side of the cube.

 

“Wow! That’s a lot of leaks!” Ness commented as he raced to the source of the new commotion. The main feature of the new landmark was a crooked tower made of larger than life shoeboxes. A long tape measure curled from the top of the tower to one of the two pillars consisting of what Ness thought were shoe polish tins, with some tins floating in the air. A ladder propped up by a pole stood between the tower and pillars. The pole was topped by an upside down shoe. Figments again littered the landmark, and the next valve was next to the base of the tape measure. This valve wasn’t just spewing the Clipboard Censors, but strange noisy and fiery orange gremlins as well.

 

“Hey! What are those?” Ness asked as the gremlins rushed towards the two boys. One of them got close to Ness, and then it started letting out a loud groan. Suddenly with a loud pop and squeak, it exploded! Ness cried out and staggered backwards.

 

“Watch it!” Raz dragged Ness away as the gremlins started converging towards the flabbergasted boy. “Those are Personal Demons! I read about them in “True Psychic Tales!” Raz started Psi-Blasting the crowd of demons. Ness was quick to follow Raz’s example.

 

“Sucker hit me why don’t ya?!” Ness growled angrily as his Psi-Blasts made quick work of numerous demons. With the crowd of enemies thinned, Ness ran towards the ladder. Ness wasted no time climbing up the ladder and leaping towards the valve.

 

“3 to 2!” Ness yelled after Psi-Blasting the valve. The next valve then emerged next to the tower of shoeboxes. Raz, who had just finished climbing up the ladder after Ness, took the opportunity to rail grind to the top of the tower. He effortlessly dodged the Censor’s projectiles as he approached the valve.

 

“3 to 3!” Shortly after Raz updated the score, the cube shuddered again as it withdrew shoeboxes and shoe polish tins. With one more giant clang, something else emerged from a different side of the cube. Ness could hear the sound of fire from the side that he and Raz were on. When the boys arrived to the newest landmark, they couldn’t help but stare in awe. A giant machine stood before them, orange flames spewing from its top and the four arches attached to it. The center had stairway-like platforms that could be used to scale it safely. The valve jutted out to the left of the machine. And like the previous sides, there were figments littering the landmark.

 

Raz dashed forward and leaped up the stairways. Ness followed briefly, but was stopped by some Censors. Before Ness could ward off the Censors, he heard a loud high-pitched groaning.

 

“Oh cr-” The Personal Demon exploded; knocking Ness back but also taking out the Censors hounding Ness. Ness recovered and watched Raz scale the machine. He wouldn’t be able to catch up to Raz at this point. Ness then turned to the valve. If only there was a way to fire his Psi-Blast even further… Ness then remembered throwing a baseball back at his hometown. Concentrating, he pointed his right finger to his forehead, and then pulled out some of his Psychic Energy. Ness smirked as he held the ball of energy in his hand. He looked back at the valve, and winding up the pitch, he threw a fastball at the valve. The loud clang was almost as satisfying as hearing Raz’s cry of surprise.

 

“”4 to 3!” Ness called out proudly. “That’s the last valve right?” Raz groaned, but grudgingly answered.

 

“Yep, that was it,” Raz sighed. “Let’s go tell Sasha we’ve completely blocked off all his Censor Outlets.” The two boys didn’t have to go anywhere to find their counselor. He was in the middle of Psi-Blasting some remaining Censors and Personal Demons away. After he finished, he turned to the boys with a serious glare.

 

“Young men, I hope you both have learned a lesson here today,” Sasha admonished.

 

“Yes I have,” Raz cheerfully answered as he pulled his goggles up. “That shooting things is fun and useful.” Raz peppered his statement with mock firing finger gun gestures. Ness couldn’t help but laugh in jovial agreement.

 

“I’m kinda disappointed it’s over now though. I was having a lot of fun,” Ness admitted.

 

“No,” Sasha admonished both boys, “that once you lose control of your own minds, it’s very hard to get them back!”

 

“Yes!” Raz admitted. “One’s thoughts must be one hundred percent controlled at all times!”

 

“Well no,” Sasha had stopped frowning. “Actually, if you try to completely suppress your undesirable feelings, they’ll build and build until they eventually explode.” Ness and Raz shared a look of alarm at Sasha’s statement.

 

“Oh, so, uh, what would happen if you were to, say, completely block off all your censor outlets?” Raz inquired.

 

“Well, there would be a build up of censor energy within, that would… uh… eventually-” As Sasha answered Raz’s question, the cube started shaking again. This earthquake was the most violent one yet. The machine was breaking apart piece by piece as the shaking continued.

 

“Run boys. Very fast.” Sasha calmly ordered despite the worry on his face. Raz pulled his goggles over his eyes. But before the counselor and his students could move, they were knocked over by a powerful tremor as steam filled the air.

 

As the steam cleared, a giant Censor emerged from a hole in the cube with a loud roar. Sasha stepped in front of his students protectively.

 

“You are my own creation! I command you to stop!” Sasha declared with a point. The MegaCensor ignored Sasha and prepared to stamp out Ness and Raz with the stamp in its left hand. Sasha quickly shoved his students out of the way and was stamped in their place.

 

“Ahhhh!” Ness winced as he heard Sasha yell out in pain. As the MegaCensor raised its stamp, the boys could see Sasha stuck to it.

 

“Boys! It’s time you both earned your merit badge!” Sasha called out as the MegaCensor eyed what was stuck on its stamp curiously. But its attention was quickly back on the two boys and it tried to stamp them again. The boys went in opposite directions to avoid the attack.

 

“You know,” Ness groused as he fired a Psi-Blast at the MegaCensor, “This wouldn’t have happened if _someone_ didn’t turn up the dial to the highest setting…”

 

“And the who was the one who closed off more outlets?” Raz countered angrily as he fired his own Psi-Blasts at the giant Censor.

 

“Hey! You started it!” Ness snapped back as he jumped back from the MegaCensor’s stamp (Sasha crying out in pain when the stamp hit the ground).

 

“What else could I do?” Raz argued. “Unlike you, I don’t have all the time in the world to become a Psychonaut!”

 

“And what’s the big deal about being a Psychonaut?” Ness asked angrily, as he knocked away the smaller Censors that were now trying to swarm him. “And where the hell are these pests coming from?!”

 

“Boys!” Sasha called. “Focus on the MegaCensor!” The MegaCensor tried to stamp Raz, who deftly flipped out of the way (Sasha yelled at the MegaCensor to peel him off the stamp and put him down).

 

“The giant Censor is being rejuvenated by the smaller Censors emerging from five valves on different sides!” Sasha then added.

 

“Is that so?” Ness mused. He sighed, and then turned to Raz. “We’ll argue later. I’ll distract that big oaf. You close off the valves while I got his attention.”

 

“That’s the smartest thing I heard from you,” Raz commented.

 

“Well, you can run faster than me!” Ness huffed. “Now get going!” Ness then charged towards the MegaCensor, yelling as loud as he could. “Hey fatty! Over here! Bet you can’t stamp me!” Ness taunted. The MegaCensor fell for the taunt and tried to stamp Ness again, but Ness rolled out of the way (Sasha yelled out Ness’s name). He then started firing Psi-Blast after Psi-Blast. The MegaCensor roared in annoyance and charged towards Ness to try to stamp him again. Ness turned and dashed off, smaller Censors joining the MegaCensor in pursuing him.

 

‘Should I use-? No, Sasha said I can’t use it, it’s far too dangerous.’ Ness thought to himself as he fought off a crowd of Censors that were trying to surround him. Suddenly, the MegaCensor paused.

 

“NO!” The MegaCensor then roared. Raz was suddenly back at Ness’s side.

 

“Closed all the outlets,” he then smirked, “That makes the final score 8 to 4.”

 

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Ness replied. “All that matters now is taking out that big guy!” Ness resumed peppering the MegaCensor with his red, yellow, and blue Psi-Blasts. This time Raz was assisting with his orange Psi-Blasts. As the boys were firing on the MegaCensor, it grabbed its gut with its right hand and pulled out a boil.

 

“Gross!” Ness cried out when the MegaCensor tossed the boil at them.

 

“Watch out!” Sasha warned. “That boil is full of Censors!” True to Sasha’s warning, Censors were spilling out of the boil as it rolled about.

 

“Oh come on! I’ve had enough with dealing with this guy’s flunkies!” Ness shouted. Bringing his hand to his forehead, he pulled out another ball of Psychic Energy. He then pitched the red, blue, and yellow sphere into the crowd of enemies, clearing them out. “C’mon!” Ness yelled to Raz, who was stupefied at Ness trick of pitching Psi-Blasts. “Let’s attack that oaf from different sides! He’s only got one stamp!”

 

Raz recovered, and the boys split off in different directions, peppering the MegaCensor with their Psi-Blasts, all the while avoiding its stamp and tossed boils.

 

“Just- die- already!” Ness pulled out one more Psi-Blast, and then pitched it into the MegaCensor’s head. After the sphere connected and exploded, the MegaCensor wavered. Then with a long despairing cry of “NO!” the MegaCensor crumpled on its back and laid still. The boys approached the fallen Censor and found Sasha was finally able to pull himself free from its stamp. As they approached their teacher, he was dusting himself off.

 

“So, is this where we get a speech and learn another lesson?” Raz asked.

 

“No,” Sasha curtly answered. He then held out two red Marksmanship Merit Badges. “Here are your merit badges.” As the boys took their badges, Sasha then looked away. “Let us never speak of this again.”

            ---

When Ness came to in Sasha’s lab, he was beaming. “Thank you so much Mr. Nein!” Ness grinned gratefully.

 

“No need to thank me. You have proved that you have enough control to use Marksmanship anywhere. Just remember-”

 

“Yes, that I should keep control of my power and not let go wild. I learned that lesson ever since I left Onett.” Ness finished for Sasha. “Well, I’m off.” He then turned and stated up the stairs. He heard Raz mention that he wanted to shoot more things, and Sasha telling him to step in front of the Brain Tumbler. When Ness reached the top, he paused, and then looked down.

 

“Hey Raz,” Ness called. Raz paused before he was in front of the tumbler, and then looked at Ness.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Before I leave, I gotta admit, you were pretty cool,” Ness confessed, feeling somewhat guilty at how he treated Raz earlier.

 

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Raz replied.

 

“Well, see you later!” Ness waved and left the lab feeling cheerful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats Ness! Time to show off to Paula!


	5. Chapter 4: Afternoon Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ness tries to impress Paula, but why is she still mad at him?

Ness raced out of GPC chamber that lead to Sasha’ Secret Lab feeling extremely proud of himself. He had earned his Marksmanship Merit Badge! Sure he had to get help from Raz to earn it, but still. In what felt like no time at all, he was back at the Kids’ Cabin Area.

 

“Paula!” Ness called out. “It’s afternoon now, so I can talk to you again! I wanna show you something!” Ness then headed to the Girls Cabin. He knocked on the door, but there was no response.

 

“Hello?” Ness looked around the Kids’ Cabin Area. No one was around, aside from Coach Oleander who was sleeping in the tree house and mumbling about eggs over the camp intercom. Ness sighed, and then decided to check his arrowheads. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he had over fifty arrowheads.

 

‘Raz was right,’ Ness thought to himself as he headed for the Main Lodge. ‘Shooting things is fun and useful.’

\---

When Ness entered the Main Lodge, he paused in surprise. “Paula?” And there she was, sitting on the table closest to the camp chef. She was in the middle of writing notes in a journal. Ness recovered, and quickly walked to her side.

 

“Hey Paula! Guess what?” Ness grinned proudly. “I got my Marksmanship Merit Badge!” He proudly held out the red badge. She glanced at it, and then resumed her writing, ignoring him. Ness returned the badge into his backpack.

 

“Wanna see a Psi-Blast?” Ness then pulled a Psi-Blast from his head and held it out. It rippled with pulses of red, yellow, and blue sparks. Paula paused her writing and looked up at Ness.

 

“That’s nice,” she said dismissively.

 

“Oh come on, you gotta admit that’s pretty rockin’,” Ness sighed as he carelessly chucked the Psi-Blast away. It hit the wall behind him and exploded in a burst of explosive energy. Milka jumped and turned invisible while Quentin and Phoebe stopped their jam session to stare at Ness in shock.

 

“Hey! Keep you’re Psychic shenanigans out of the building!” The camp chef barked. Ness winced.

 

“Sorry!” Ness apologized. Paula gathered her notes and pen in her satchel and stood up.

 

“I have to go,” and walking fast despite her skirt, Paula left the Main Lodge. Ness looked around the room as Quentin and Phoebe continued to stare at him.

 

“Um… well,” Ness then noticed that Paula left something behind. “I better return Paula’s teddy bear!” He quickly scooped up the bear and dashed for the exit. “Sorry for interrupting your rehearsal!”

 

Ness didn’t have to travel too far to find Paula; she was walking down the boardwalk leading to Lake Oblongata. “Paula wait!” He called out. She paused and turned to face him, her expression unreadable. Panting, he caught up to her and held out her bear. “You left your friend behind.”

 

“Oh!” Paula quickly took her teddy back and placed him back in her satchel. “Thank you.” She then started towards Lake Oblongata again.

 

“So what’s the rush?” Ness asked as he walked next to her.

 

“Milla’s Levitation Class is starting soon,” Paula answered. She then looked at Ness in annoyance. “Can you please leave me alone now?”

 

“Hey, if you’re still mad about this morning, I said I was sorry!” Ness pouted.

 

“Are you really sorry?” Paula countered in a disappointed tone. Ness fell silent. Blue eyes then stared into violet eyes. “I’m not the only one you should apologize to.” She then turned and continued towards Lake Oblongata, hugging her teddy bear tightly as she left.

 

For a moment, Ness simply stood still. Then he turned and raced the opposite direction. Ness didn’t stop running until he was certain he was as far away enough from Lake Oblongata. He took in his surroundings. He had run all the way to the Reception Area of the Camp. He sighed; this area was where he stood up for Paula when Bobby and Benny stole her teddy bear. And where Raz dropped in during orientation. Both events had happened the previous day.

 

Ness sighed, thinking over what Paula said to him, and working with Raz to earn his Marksmanship Merit Badge. ‘She was right. I was such a jealous jerk,’ he thought to himself guiltily as he hid near an old car that was covered by an overgrown tree. He remained in his hiding place even as he heard the Milla Vodello’s distant voice over the intercom announcing that her Levitation Class had started. He didn’t want to face Paula again after how he acted. Instead, he reached in his backpack and took out a yellow and blue yo-yo, and started practicing some tricks with it.

 

As Ness was perfecting his around the world, he heard a heavy footstep. Startled, Ness bagged his yo-yo and pulled out his trusty bat. Whatever was prowling around sounded too big to be a bear. Narrowing his eyes, he started to flicker with Psychic energy. He heard footsteps… he whirled around… and nearly struck Raz on the head.

 

“Hey! Watch it!” Raz yelped as he backed away holding his hands up.

 

“Oh my god! Sorry Raz! I thought you were something else!” Ness hastily apologized as his Psychic aura died down. He then placed his bat back in his backpack. “So what’s happening?”

 

“Agent Milla Vodello sent me to find you so you can attend her Levitation Class,” Raz answered, trying hard to sound professional.

 

“Sorry, I don’t feel like learning to levitate, even though it sounds like fun,” Ness sighed as he turned to leave. Raz was quick to follow.

 

“Milla says that it’s imperative that you attend though! She told me that you are the strongest Psi-Cadet that this camp has had in a long time!” Raz exclaimed. “Also if you don’t go to class, she won’t let me attend!” Ness paused.

 

“This is about being a Psychonaut again right?” Ness eyed Raz. “You never answered my question while we were in Sasha’s mind.”

 

“You heard from around camp that I was from the circus right?” Raz began his explanation with a question.

 

“Well of course I know! I overheard Paula say you were from a travelling circus! She met you in one after all,” Ness rolled his eyes as he continued walking.

 

“Well, I wanted to be more than just a circus performer! But my dad…” Raz looked away solemnly. “He hates Psychics.” Ness froze, and then faced Raz.

 

“Wouldn’t that mean that he would hate Paula?” Ness asked in alarm.

 

“Hey, can we stop making this about Paula? I know you like her a lot, but I’m trying to explain myself here,” Raz grumbled.

 

“I don’t like her!” Ness snapped, his cheeks reddening. “It’s just,” he then sighed, and took a deep breath to calm himself, “Well, she’s got a crush on you. And I was pretty jealous as a result.” Raz stared at Ness in surprise after hearing that last statement.

 

“Paula has a crush on me?!” Raz then asked.

 

“What?! Wasn’t it obvious?” Ness answered; flabbergasted that Raz was oblivious to Paula’s feelings the whole time. “Paula has Empathy! She was projecting her feelings for you whenever she talked with you! How could you miss that?!”

 

“I guess it’s because I got a strong mental defense,” Raz mused as he processed what he had learned about Paula. Ness then sighed and started walking away again.

 

“Anyways, I was a big jerk, and she deserves the best. She’ll be attending Miss Vodello’s class, and I really don’t wanna face her there. In fact, I don’t deserve to be her friend anymore. Just tell Miss Vodello that I’m sorry I can’t attend her class. You treat Paula right okay?” Ness waved Raz off.

 

“Now hold on!” Raz exclaimed as he started after Ness again. “I told you! I’m training to become a Psychonaut, but I don’t have much time before my dad comes to get me! I don’t have time for a girlfriend! In fact, I still don’t remember ever meeting Paula in the first place!” Raz caught up to Ness and stood in front of him.

 

“Besides, you told me that you were looking out for her right? I think she misses having you as her bodyguard. You should talk to her.”

 

“But-”

 

“No buts! I’ll drag you to Milla Vodello myself with Telekinesis if I have to!” Raz then promptly lifted Ness in the air with an orange hand.

 

“Hey!” Ness broke Raz’s hold with his own blue Psychic aura. “You’re gonna pester me until I go aren’t you. Fine, I’ll go and attend Miss Vodello’s class.” The two boys then headed back towards Lake Oblongata together.

 

“By the way Raz, I’m sorry for how I treated you,” Ness apologized. Raz eyed Ness in confusion. “And I mean it this time,” Ness added. “You really are a great guy. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask, okay?” Ness held out his hand for a handshake.

 

“Apology accepted, and I might take you up on that offer,” Raz smiled and willingly shook Ness’s hand. “Now let’s go! We don’t want to miss Milla’s party!”

 

As the two boys continued towards Lake Oblongata, they were unaware that a hulking creature was watching them.

\---

“Seriously? How could you do so badly at Telekinetic canoeing?” Raz laughed as he and Ness were telekinetically canoeing to the dock that Milla was hosting her class on.

 

“Hey! That seagull dropped a fish on me! That wasn’t my fault!” Ness responded, though he was laughing as well. Both boys disembarked in front of Milla. Ness stopped smiling when he saw Paula though. She was currently not Astral Projecting into Milla’s mind, and looked downcast as she sat on the dock.

 

“Well go on!” Raz nudged Ness. “Talk to her!”

 

“I… can’t,” Ness shook his head.

 

“Then I will!” And before Ness could stop him, Raz walked over to the unhappy blonde. Ness sighed and turned away, unwilling to listen to the conversation. After a moment of silence, he then felt someone walk up behind him.

 

“Hello again Ness.” Ness turned to face Paula. She was having difficulty meeting his eye and was also hugging her teddy bear tightly. “I missed you,” she then admitted, a blush forming on her cheeks.

 

“You shouldn’t have missed me. You were right. I was a jealous jerk,” Ness admitted. He then apologized, “I’m sorry. I don’t deserve to hang out with you anymore.”

 

“Ness, I know you’re a good person, that’s why I allowed you to be my bodyguard. I didn’t want you and Raz to be rivals for my friendship,” Paula’s blush deepened and she looked away. “My father doesn’t want me dating any boys, so there was no reason to worry about any feelings I might have for anyone.” Ness sighed feeling guiltier by the second.

 

“Is there any way I can make it up to you?” Ness then asked. Paula paused, then her blue eyes met his violet eyes.

 

“Can you stay with me this time please?” Paula requested.

 

“I will,” Ness promised. “Cross my heart and hope to die,” he added as he crossed his heart. Paula smiled, and then she dashed forward and hugged him, squashing her bear between herself and him. Ness’s mind blanked and he froze as he felt her relief radiate though him. Both Eaglelanders were then interrupted by Milla’s bubbly voice.

 

“Oh Paula darling, I’m so glad you managed to make up with your friend! Are you ready to rejoin the party?” Milla smiled, her Psycho-Portal sealed shut on her forehead as she floated in front of the gathered Psi-Cadets.

 

“I’m ready,” Paula nodded with a smile as she sat down in front of Milla. The Brazilian counselor then turned to Ness.

 

“I’m so glad you can join us, the party wasn’t complete without you.”

 

“Sorry I tried to skip out. I’m ready to join if I’m still invited,” Ness smiled as walked towards Milla.

 

‘Can you hold my hand?’ Ness startled when her heard Paula’s question in his mind. He turned to the seated blonde girl, who looked away with red cheeks. Ness then grinned at Paula.

 

‘I’ll be happy to,’ he telepathically answered as he sat next to Paula and took her hand.

 

“Agent Vodello!” Raz then addressed Milla. “I finished the task you gave me. I’ve been ordered to report here for Levitation training! I’ve already done the Coach’s obstacle course, and Sasha showed me how to shoot!”

 

“You know I’d expect that sort of recklessness from Morceau, but Sasha?” Milla questioned.

 

“Wait, Miss Vodello, are you saying that you aren’t going to let Raz attend your class?” Ness asked. He then added, “He said he had to get me here before you’d let him learn how to levitate!” Ness then gave Milla an imploring gaze. “If Raz can’t join, I won’t join.” Ness noticed Paula staring at him in confusion.

 

‘Sorry,’ Ness telepathically apologized, ‘but I think Raz deserves to learn how to levitate.’

 

“Ness, thanks for sticking up for me,” Raz smiled gratefully. Raz then faced Milla again. “Agent Nein said you were the most powerful levitator that the Psychonauts had,” Raz explained.

 

“Sasha said that? Really?” Milla queried. She then mused, “I didn’t know he noticed…”

 

“Well you know, I only work with the best teachers,” Raz then added with a shrug.

 

“Flirt!” Milla chuckled, finally convinced to allow Raz to attend her class, “Okay, let’s party.” Leaning forward, the Psycho-Portal on her forehead opened, revealing a familiar white glow. Ness closed his eyes as he felt his consciousness drift into Milla’s mind, Paula’s consciousness and Raz’s consciousness following not too far behind.


	6. Chapter 5: Milla's Dance Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Milla Vodello's Levitation Class is one big party! Can our group of Psi-Cadets reach the end and earn their Levitation Merit Badges?

Ness stumbled, slightly disoriented by the bright colors that decorated Milla Vodello’s mind. As he gathered his bearings, he began to take in his surroundings. He was in the lowest area of what was the largest entrance lounge to a building. The floor was split in platforms, each with its own tables, couches, lava lamps, and screens. Ness looked up farther ahead towards the end of the room and could see a red and black rug leading to some floating rings and a silver muscled statue in the distance. Throughout the room, figments were floating about. Next to him, Paula was waiting patiently, while Raz was looking around for the their teacher.

“Look who made the scene!” Milla’s cheerful voice then sounded around the three children.

“Agent Vodello? Where are you?” Raz asked.

“On TV of course!” Milla answered. And sure enough, on the nearby screen, there was Milla Vodello, dancing away like there was no tomorrow. “Where I was always meant to be! I mean look at my hair, darling. How can hair this fabulous not be on TV?”

"Well, you’re the host of this party,” Ness commented as he looked around. “You do deserve the spotlight for hosting a great gathering.”

“Your too kind!” Milla replied to Ness’s comment. She then addressed Paula in a motherly tone. “Are you ready to try to learn to levitate again?”

“Yes, I am! I won’t let you down this time Miss Vodello!” Paula answered. Ness noted that Paula was more eager in Milla’s mind than in Oleander’s. He deduced that Paula’s excitement came from how friendly Milla was compared to the coach.

“All right, let us begin,” Milla then addressed Ness and Raz. “Now darlings, the best way to learn Levitation is to just try it! I’m going to give you two Levitation Learner’s Permits. They will only work while you’re both in my mind.” Ness reached into his pocket and pulled out a cyan card. Nodding he put it back into his pocket and continued to listen to Milla’s speech.

“After you all finish my course, I’ll give you all the real thing, baby. First you gotta show me you all know how to use it!” After Milla finished speaking, the trio jumped to the next platform and saw Quentin. The DJ smiled at them, and Ness and Raz watched Quentin bounce over a large gap on a purple orb of psychic energy. He then turned around and stood next to a teleporting bug as he waited for his fellow campers to catch up to him. They then heard Paula yelling out in joy and turned to look at her.

“I’m doing it! I’m finally levitating!” Paula cheered happily as she stood on a white-ringed bright pink bubble of psychic energy. She then fell backwards and the bubble popped. “Eep!” Ness dashed towards the falling girl and caught her with his Telekinesis.

“You okay?” Ness asked as he gently placed Paula back on the ground.

“I’m fine,” Paula answered as she straitened her skirt. “Thank you Ness.” She then sighed, disappointed in herself.

“Paula darling, there’s no need to be ashamed. You can now summon your thought bubble,” Milla consoled. “You just need to learn to keep your balance while levitating.” Milla then addressed the boys.

“Ready to show me how you two levitate?” At Milla’s question, Ness focused his thoughts and summoned a yellow and red-ringed blue orb over his head. After placing the orb on the ground, he climbed on it. He then tried to move forward while standing on the bubble, and then promptly fell flat on his face, the bubble popping after he crashed. His baseball cap, which flew off his head when he took his tumble, landed in front of him.

“Ow!” Ness groaned as he raised himself from the floor, rubbing his sore jaw. After he made sure his jaw was intact, he picked up his cap and placed it back on his head. “Man, how do you keep your balance?”

“It’s pretty simple,” Raz answered. The two Eaglelanders looked at Raz, who was standing on a green-ringed orange thought bubble. Raz gave a friendly smile, “Would you like me to help you two out?”

Ness and Paula shared a look, and then Ness faced Raz with a smile. “If it’s not too much trouble for you.” With Raz’s help, Ness and Paula slowly honed their sense of balance. Eventually, they weren’t falling as often.

“Thanks again Raz!” Paula called as she twirled on her pink thought bubble.

“We really owe you one!” Ness acknowledged as he dashed to and fro on his blue thought bubble.

“Very good!” Milla’s praised. “Now bounce on up here and follow me, darlings!” At Milla’s instruction, Ness stopped his dashing and looked at he gap before him.

“Here goes nothing!” Ness then raced towards the gap and jumped. He cleared the gap easily (Milla’s encouraging him on) but when he landed on the other side he nearly fell off.

“Whoa!” Ness waved his arms and managed to find his balance. “Phew!” He sighed in relief. “I guess I better watch my landings when I leap high.” Raz then leapt over the gap after Ness and made a perfect landing.

“You’re jump was really high! I tried to reach your height, but I know I fell just short,” Raz commented as he floated next to Ness. The boys then noticed Paula was staring at the gap hesitantly.

“Paula, don’t be scared. I’ll catch you if you fall,” Ness reassured. Paula met Ness’s eye, then steeled herself. She dashed and leapt over the gap. She landed more smoothly than Ness, though still went to take Ness’s hand.

“You didn’t get as much air as I did,” Raz evaluated Paula’s jump. Paula looked away with flushed cheeks. “Not saying it’s bad! We’re all still learning after all.”

“That’s right,” Quentin then added. “Everyone’s psychic powers manifest differently. I specialize in Levitation, while my friend Phoebe’s Pyrokinesis burns brightest. You’ve actually improved a lot Paula! At first you couldn’t summon your thought bubble!”

“Thanks,” Paula’s cheeks turned redder and she then hugged her bear. Before Ness could say anything to her, Milla’s voice sounded.

“Now for this last one, you’re really gonna have to fly.” Quentin then started another demonstration as Milla explained. “Once you get in the air, try using your thoughts as a balloon to float.” Quentin bounced high towards the three floating rings, and then holding on to his thought bubble, gently floated through the rings. After passing through the third ring, the bouncer opened its arms, revealing a passage. Quentin disappeared through the exit, and the bouncer folded its arms again. “Just jump for those rings, as high as you can, and then do your PSI float! Don’t be afraid darlings!”

“Um, can I please try first this time?” Paula asked the two boys shyly.

“No need to ask!” Ness answered as he stood to the side. “Ladies first after all!”

“Well, you asked nicely,” Raz smiled and stood aside as well.

Paula stood in the middle of the rug dividing the room, and focused on the rings. She took a deep breath then dashed towards the gap. She leaped in the air right before the edge and at the apex of her jump she willed her bubble upwards. Holding tightly to her bubble, she gently drifted through the rings. After landing, she turned and waited for her friends with a smile. Ness then nodded at Raz.

“Your turn,” Ness graciously allowed Raz to go before him. Naturally, Raz cleared the jump and floated through the rings easily. Ness noted that while Raz’s jump was indeed higher than Paula’s jump, his descent speed was noticeably faster than her descent speed.

Ness then took his turn, and after a running start, leapt as high as he could. In fact, Ness bounced so high he almost went over the first ring. “Whoa!” Ness quickly pulled his thought bubble over his head and slowly drifted down to the bottom of the gap.

“Oops, guess I kinda put a little too much power in that one,” Ness laughed as he headed back to try again. “I’m okay!” He waved to Paula, who was watching him with concern. She relaxed when she heard his voice, and fighting the bubbly feeling he got whenever she smiled, he Ness tried the jump once again. This time, he managed to pass through the rings. The moment Ness landed; the iron bouncer raised its arms, opening the passage for the three.

“Outstanding!” Milla praised as she danced on the screen. “Okay, just between you and me, this end of the party is dead. Come find me on the other side of the party, and I’ll give you all your merit badges for real. Never keep a girl waiting long now!” Milla then finished her instruction with a kiss. The three children looked at each other.

“Well, we are kinda late to the party,” Ness admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Better late than never though right?” Paula replied as she summoned her thought bubble again and started through the passage.

“Hey wait!” Ness summoned his bubble and followed her. Raz simply laughed and followed the two Eaglelanders. The passage led to a circular tall room. Not only were there figments floating about, three rings were floating around the children.

“Stay on your thought bubbles if you want to get higher,” Milla’s voice rang out as the children set about to gather the figments they could reach.

“And see if you can get all those rings spinning little DJ’s,” Milla then instructed.

“Yes Miss Vodello!” Paula acknowledged as she dashed to one side of the room to gather momentum. She easily bounced through one of the rings. After she passed through the ring, it started spinning. Ness and Raz followed Paula’s example and passed through the other two rings. When all three rings were spinning Milla’s voice rang out again.

“Woo-hoo! You are all the sugar to my bowl darlings.” As she continued to speak, flower shaped platforms descended. “Now just follow the flowers, won’t you? And try to stay rolling at all times. That is the theme of this party!”

Ness easily bounced up the flowers, but made sure to not go too far ahead of his friends. Raz was keeping up with him easily, but as they got higher, Paula started to lag behind.

“It’s okay Paula! Levitation slows down your fall,” Raz reassured as they neared the big floating platform.

“It still doesn’t mean heights aren’t scary!” Paula squeaked as she looked down. Ness floated back to the platform Paula had rooted herself to.

“Do you want to hold my hand?” Ness then shyly offered his hand, trying to push away any guilt that was still present. To his surprise, Paula took it.

“Don’t leave me this time, promise?”

“Promise!” Ness smiled, determined to be there for Paula when she needed him. With his support, Paula was able to reach the larger platform. On this specific platform, Clem Foot, Crystal Snagrash, Melvin (Who went by Chops) Sweetwind, and Elton Fir were dancing along with some dancers in Milla’s mind.

“Fantastic!” Milla praised her students. “What style you three have.” Paula blushed at Milla’s compliment.

“I’m not that good, I’m still scared of heights.” Ness gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“And there is no need to be ashamed of being scared,” Milla consoled the blonde girl. “Now, I’m not saying that any of you will fall, but if you ever did, I’ll put a ball return down here for you.” Still holding Paula’s hand, Ness looked over the edge of the platform, and noticed a red pinball bumper appear at the bottom of the room. “Just jump in there if you need to come back up here in a hurry.”

Ness looked upward. “Hmm, we still got a way to go.” He then watched as his fellow campers danced about. ‘I’d like to dance with Paula,’ he thought to himself.

“Why don’t you ask her then?” Raz then asked cheekily.

“Hey!” Ness glared at Raz as a blush took over his cheeks. “We’re cool now, but that doesn’t mean you get to read my mind!” Raz simply smirked in response. Before Paula could interject, Milla appeared on a nearby screen.

“Darlings, float over here will you?” In front of the screen floated three inert rings. “These rings aren’t spinning and their ruining my party.” Paula nervously clung to Ness as the three listened.

“Remember to use your Psi Float, I’m not saying it won’t ever let you down, but it will let you down nice and slow.”

Raz was quick to follow Milla’s order and bounced towards the rings. He gently floated through all three. After passing through the rings, they slowly started to spin. Ness smiled at Paula.

‘Whenever you’re ready,’ he squeezed her hand. Paula took a deep breath and sighed.

‘Don’t let go.’  
‘On the count of three then… One… two… three!’ Holding hands, the Eaglelanders bounced toward the rings to join Raz. Thanks to Ness, Paula was able to make a higher jump. In turn, she helped Ness descend more slowly. The duo easily passed through the three rings, which started spinning even faster after they passed through them. 

“Thank you sweeties. I feel so much better now!” The trio watched as the rings faded away.

“Come on. Let’s take it a little higher now.” After Milla’s sentence, the flower platform started to rise. The flower eventually stopped next to a round platform. Ness could see blue confetti being blown to the left. “Ooh, look at the crowd. Things are starting to pick up! See that draft up above, darlings? Jump into it and float and see where it takes you.”

As Raz levitated to a higher platform to prepare to float with the wind, Ness instead looked around. He noticed an alcove near the source of the wind.

“Paula, is it okay if I check something out?” Ness asked. Paula eyed him curiously.

“What did you find?” Ness pointed to the alcove he saw.

“I won’t be gone too long.” Before Paula could stop him, Ness bounced towards the alcove. He heard Raz call out in confusion, but Ness continued to float towards the alcove. He noticed that the ledge was leading to a dark room. Ness could see a Memory Vault running about in it. When Ness landed, he heard Milla’s voice call out.

“Now, why would you want to come in here? Come on, this room’s no fun. Let’s leave, baby.”

“Just a little look,” Ness answered as he looked around the room. Aside from the vault, there were figments of young children littering the room, an old rocking horse, and a giant imposing toy box in the corner. Ness ignored the toy box and started to collect some figments.

“No children. Please don’t come in here.” At Milla’s voice, Ness turned and noticed Raz leading Paula into the room.

“Wow,” Raz remarked as he took in the room. “What is this place?”

“Something about this room… makes me feel sad… and scared,” Paula commented as she eyed the figments that Ness didn’t gather. Ness chased down the vault and slammed it with a well-placed Psi-punch. The vault collapsed and popped open, revealing its memory reel.

The three children looked at the reel together. They saw Milla reading to a group of children. They saw her feeding the group of children. They saw her playing music with the group of children. Then they saw her watching the building they lived in burning down when Milla came back from a shopping trip. They saw Milla in tears as she listened to the dying cries of the burning children.

“Milla,” Paula backed away from the reel, tears spilling from her eyes. “Is this why you wanted me to come to Whispering Rock?”

“Oh darling,” Milla soothed. “I do see myself in you.” Ness eyed the ground guiltily after hearing the conversation.

“Miss Vodello, I’m sorry I intruded in this room,” Ness then eyed the toy box. He could sense something fierce inside, and decided to leave it alone.

“Am I missing something?” Raz asked.

“It’s not much,” Paula answered as she wiped her eyes. “It’s just… well, my parents run a preschool in my hometown of Twoson. Seeing what happened to the children Miss Vodello used to take care of…” Paula took a deep breath. “It’s not just my Empathy, I can understand her feelings here.”

“Paula I-”

“Don’t apologize Ness, I’m glad you found this room,” Paula smiled at Ness behind her tears. “I’m glad I can understand our teacher better, and now I want to learn about my powers to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen at home.” She then gave Ness a hug. Ness froze as he felt Paula’s Empathy project through his being. But eventually he returned the gesture, making sure to massage her side soothingly. After a moment of silence, Paula ended the embrace. Ness ignored the warmth in his cheeks as he took Paula’s hand.

“Well, we better get back to the party then.” Ness smiled at his friends, and the trio levitated away from the room. From the toy box in the corner, the nightmares were left undisturbed.  
\---  
Using the blue draft, the children reached a ladder. At the top of the ladder, they found themselves in a large pinball room. They watched as Phoebe used the pinball launcher to soar into the air. She then used the bumpers to proceed even higher. Paula flinched and clung to Ness as she gazed upward.

“Take your time,” Ness smiled reassuringly as he massaged her side. “Raz, you wanna go first?”

“In a bit!” Raz answered as he levitated around the room. “Ah there you are!” Ness and Paula watched as Raz sorted out some Emotional Baggage.

“Man, now that I’ve been in three minds, I’m realizing just how literal the mentalscape is,” Ness chuckled.

“Well, aren’t people always looking for a meaningful life?” Paula then asked. Ness eyed Paula in confusion. Paula sighed.

“Ever since I realized my powers, my parents told me they were a gift,” Paula hugged her teddy bear. “Though my powers made me a celebrity, I always felt like an outcast. The only ones to ever see the real me were my parents. And even then…” Paula paused, the her blue eyes met Ness’s violet eyes, “I’ve had to hide things from them, too. I would often question why I was gifted with PSI.” Ness tilted his head, concerned. But before he could ask Paula for clarification, Raz called out.

“Here I go!” Riding on his thought bubble, Raz ricocheted through the air. Ness chuckled as he watched Raz ascend the room. Paula couldn’t help but enjoy Raz’s showboating as well.

“Well, we can’t stay grounded forever. I’ll go first if you aren’t ready. If you are ready, I trust Raz will help you out if you need it,” Ness assured.

“You can go first, I’d like it if you were the once to catch me if I fall,” Paula answered, but there was a notable reddening on her cheeks. Ness ignored the warmth in his own cheeks as he levitated to the launcher. In no time, he caught up to Raz, who was waiting on a flower platform. Before Ness could greet Raz, Paula screamed!

“Paula!” Ness immediately jumped off the platform. When he landed, he saw some top hatted Censors were harassing Paula.

“Leave her alone!” Ness charged forward and dispatched the Censors with a single blue Psi-Punch.

“I’m sorry darlings,” Milla’s voice called out. “My Censors normally stay out of the party.”

“I guess they punish any tardy partygoers then?” Ness quipped. He then turned to Paula. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Paula straitened her skirt, and then eyed Ness. “So those were Censors?”

“Yep, a person’s mental patrol. They stamp out any intrusions or bad thoughts. They’re supposed to help keep a person sane.” Ness explained.

“Hm… I wonder why there weren’t any in-”

“Hey, this time, I’ll make sure you don’t get jumped, okay?” Ness smiled at Paula. Paula was so taken by Ness’s earnest statement; she forgot what she was thinking about.

Eventually, the trio now stood on the flower platform together. As the platform took them higher, a launcher spawned on the base of the room. The flower took the three Psi-Cadets to a figment littered floor bordered by a grind rail. Dotting the rail were the same rings that the students had passed through.

“Right! Let’s collect figments, then ride the rail!” Ness guided Paula onto solid ground and allowed her to take a figment. Raz went and gathered his own figments. While Raz was exploring, Ness spoke to Paula.

“I really am sorry about leaving you behind. You want me to teach you how to rail grind?” Ness asked. He then realized what he asked her and felt his cheeks burn. He only felt warmer when Paula giggled; she clearly sensed his embarrassment.

“Please show me. I didn’t see you ride the rails since you just dashed off last time.”

“Well, you just jump on the rails, like so,” Ness jumped onto the rail. When his feet touched the rail, he started moving forward, sparks flying from the soles of his red sneakers. Paula followed (still on her thought bubble) from the ground as Ness moved. “When you want to go faster, you just think of going faster,” Ness’s speed increased slightly, “And you’ll speed up.”

“Wouldn’t that damage our shoes?” She asked.

“Well, we are in a mental world. I’m sure nothing will happen to our shoes.” Ness jumped off the rail before he could pass through a ring. “Do you wanna try now?” Paula eyed the rail, and then she looked down nervously.

“I’ll hold your hand until you’re ready,” Ness smiled. “Tell you what, I’ll help you get on the rails with Telekinesis.” Paula sighed, then she stood next to Ness, waiting.

“Let’s get this over with.” Ness summoned a blue hand and gently placed Paula on to the rail. She held out her arms as she moved forward, struggling to avoid looking down. Ness levitated beside her and took her hand. The two Eaglelanders had to stop when they reached a ring.

“I need to get off for a moment,” Paula quivered as she looked down. Ness gently picked her up and placed her on the ground. Raz then levitated to them.

“Hey there! Did I miss anything?”

“Nothing happened between us!” Ness cried out in alarm. Raz simply laughed at Ness’s response.

“Well, I know what we have to do!” Raz jumped on the rail. In no time, he passed through the rings to make them spin. After passing through all the rings, he jumped off the rail and waited for the Eaglelanders to take their turns.

“I’m still scared that I’ll fall,” Paula confessed as she looked down again.

“You won’t fall off the rail if you don’t jump,” Ness told her. He then jumped on the rail to pass through the rings. After passing through them, the rings spun even faster. “Besides,” Ness grinned as he jumped off the rail. “I’ll catch you if you do fall. That’s a promise.”

Paula blushed and looked away from Ness. She sighed, and then steeled herself. She then jumped on to the rail, and focusing on moving forward, passed through the rings. After a moment of rapid spinning, the rings faded away. As Paula jumped off the rail, a new platform descended.

“Look’s like we summoned the way forward!” Raz leaped on the platform on his thought bubble. Ness and Paula were quick to follow. The platform took them to the highest floor, where more campers were dancing about. The campers present were J.T. Hoofburger, his “girlfriend” Elka Doom, and Chloe Barge. Near the platform, a yellow and red door adorned with the images of two open palms blocked the way further into Milla’s mind.

“Howdy Paula!” J.T. greeted Paula with a smile.

“If you’re going to ask James to dance with you, he’s too busy!” Elka interrupted before Paula could return J.T.’s greeting. Paula stared at Elka.

“He was just saying hello-”

“And as you know, you had a chance with him, but you said no back then, right?” Elka continued, not giving Paula a chance to finish. “So he’s MY boyfriend now. So sorry you missed out.”

“Ignore her Paula,” Ness glared at Elka, “She’s crazy.”

“Excuse me!”

“Now now Ness, no need to say something like that,” J.T. admonished Ness.

“What kid of girlfriend acts so clingy though?” Ness retorted.

“Well, you did act like a clingy jealous boyfriend to Paula if I remember correctly,” Raz recalled.

“Yeah I-” Ness froze. “RAZ!” Raz simply laughed at Ness’s outburst. Paula blushed and hid her face behind her teddy bear.

“You didn’t have to bring that up!” Ness yelled. “I said I was sorry didn’t I? How I acted then was wrong. And now how Elka’s acting is wrong! If this is what dating does to everyone here, it’s a dumb waste of time!” Unwilling to spend another moment near Elka, Ness then levitated towards the door, Psi-punched it open, and descended down the revealed blue hallway in a huff. All the while, Chloe was in her own little world, ignoring the drama.

As Ness was levitating through the hallway (passing through figments along the way), suddenly a red backlash symbol suddenly appeared before him. Ness barely kept from falling backwards on his bubble as some more top hatted Censors popped from the symbol.

“Buzz off!” Ness dispatched them easily, feeling better by blowing off steam through pounding things. But he was so busy fighting the Censors he didn’t notice two Personal Demons sneaking on him.

“Ness! Look out!” Ness felt a gust of ice rush by him and freeze a demon solid. Ness then quickly stepped back and dispatched the unfrozen demon with a well-placed Psi-Blast, the resulting explosion finished off the frozen demon as well. After the mental hazards were cleared off, Paula then caught up to Ness. Ness met her eyes and then realized what he had almost done again.

“Sorry I bolted off like that,” Ness apologized. “It’s just, watching Elka act like that-”

“It’s okay,” Paula then stepped towards him and hugged him. Ness froze at the contact. “You know better than her. Just because she’s J.T.’s girlfriend doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be allowed talk to anyone else.” Ness sighed and said nothing else. The moment of silence was then interrupted when Raz approached.

“Hey, sorry about what I said earlier,” Raz apologized to Ness. Paula released Ness (he noticed that her cheeks were red under the blue light) as he addressed Raz.

“No hard feelings, as I said, I was a major jerk,” Ness shrugged as he continued forward.

“Well, Paula told me that I shouldn’t tease you like that either,” Raz admitted. Ness gave Paula a quizzical look; she avoided his gaze and she levitated beside him. Eventually, the three reached the end of the hallway, which was also blocked by a door similar to the first one. Raz stepped forward, “Allow me.” Raz Psi-punched the door open, revealing a purple room surrounded by a fence. The room had a Memory Vault running about, as well as two Censors.

Ness easily dispatched the Censors as Paula and Raz chased the Vault. Paula managed to catch the vault with Telekinesis and Raz Psi-punched it open. Ness approached and the three looked at the memory reel, which consisted of the adventures Milla undertook as a Psychonaut alongside her partner Sasha. Ness was impressed with what he saw.

“So this is why you want to be a Psychonaut so bad huh?” Ness asked Raz. “Cool adventures using your PSI to fight bad guys?”

“Right, a chance to be more than just a circus boy,” Raz answered affirmatively.

“Wouldn’t that worry your parents?” Paula asked. Raz flinched at Paula’s question. “I know you don’t remember meeting me, but I met your parents once. I especially remember your father acting pretty similar to my dad.” Raz looked away from Paula.

“You told me your dad hates Psychics right?” Ness then recalled. Paula gave Ness an admonishing look.

“Ness!”

“Hey, can we not talk about any family issues here?” Raz dropped the subject. He then used the room to gather momentum to bounce on the fence. Raz didn’t say anything to the Eaglelanders as he climbed upwards.

“Sorry,” Ness called out to Raz. ‘He did tell me that though,’ Ness admitted telepathically to Paula.

‘But Mr. Aquato wasn’t outright hostile to me or my parents,’ Paula telepathically replied. Ness shrugged in response.

“Are you two coming?” Raz then called.

When the Eaglelanders caught up to Raz, they found themselves on a rotating platform adorned with four different hazards: water, fire, electricity, and acid. In the middle of those hazards was a pole with spikes at its base.

“When you are levitating, you are also protected from all sorts of icky things. But some things, like those spikes, those are always bad news, whether you are levitating or not. So watch out!” Milla’s voice informed the trio. Ness then tested the waters literally by levitating over the blue water. As he floated, he could hear splashing. He then levitated over the acid, electricity, and fire. Emboldened by Ness, Paula followed and managed to traverse the hazards safely as well. Both Eaglelanders than stopped over the water when they noticed Raz was avoiding it.

“Hey Raz! Milla said you can float over water with Levitation,” Ness called out. “Give it a shot!” At Ness’s encouragement, Raz slowly floated over to the water, but the moment he stood over it, his thought bubble suddenly burst and Raz was leaping away from the water back to the platform’s edge looking terrified. Ness and Paula were quick to follow him in concern.

“Hmm, that shouldn’t be happening,” Milla’s voice rang out in concern. “Darling, do you have some problems with water? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Uh… It’s a long story. Maybe later,” Raz answered, a mix of embarrassment and fear tinged his voice.

“Okay, I’m always here for you darling. Let me just say that it is very normal for boys your age.”

Ness rubbed the back of his head in shame as Paula glared at him. “Sorry again,” he apologized. “You okay?”

“I’m okay,” Raz waved off Ness’s apology. “Let’s just keep going.” Raz managed to summon his thought bubble again and making sure to avoid the water, he leapt over the spikes and started climbing the pole. Ness turned to Paula and gestured her to go first, but she shook her head.

“You don’t have to be so chivalrous. Besides, you might get a view you won’t forget if I go first.” Paula then gave Ness a teasing look. Ness realized what Paula meant and felt his cheeks burn.

“Okay…” Ness floated over the hazards and climbed the pole. When he was high enough, he joined Raz on another flower platform. When Paula joined the boys, another bumper appeared on the bottom of the room.

The three children then looked around, for they heard the sobs of nearby emotional baggage. A green barrier divided the area. Two platforms floated under the barrier in an orbit; the platforms were too close to the barrier. Raz noticed the blue bumper platforms and saw they lead to a sobbing green purse.

“Won’t be too long now,” Raz told the Eaglelanders as he leapt to the first bumper. They watched as he reached the green purse to tag it.

“He really is a cool guy,” Ness admitted to Paula. He then sighed.

“Ness, it’s okay,” Paula soothed as she took his hand. “You’re a good person, too.”

“It’s just, well…” Ness took a deep breath. “My mom taught me that I should be nice to any new kid I meet. And I haven’t been the nicest to most of the other campers to be honest.” Ness looked away. “I feel like crap, I’m such a disappointment.” Ness then felt Paula’s grip tighten.

“You want to make up for it, right?” Ness faced Paula. She was smiling, a view so radiant Ness felt he was being cooked alive.

“Yeah…” Ness admitted as Raz returned from his detour.

“Ready to keep going?” Raz asked. Ness took Paula’s hand, and both Eaglelanders nodded in response.  
\---  
After passing through the exit at the top, the trio found themselves in a black and white checkerboard tunnel. Dropping through the exit of the tunnel, it’s walls unfurled into a racing flag. The trio took in their new surroundings; they were now in a huge racing course. The track floor was cyan and speed boosters and a golden raised path could be seen further down. At the orange starting line, the camp cheerleaders Crystal and Clem were warming up on their thought bubbles. But it wasn’t just the cheerleaders; the camp bully Bobby Zilch was present as well. The green teleport bug stood nearby, constantly blowing.

“Well look who it is! A trio of losers about to eat my dust!” The obnoxious voice of Bobby greeted the three friends as they approached the starting line. Ness started forward, but then felt Paula grab his arm.

“Ignore him. He’s not worth it,” Paula started to lead Ness away, but Raz then spoke.

“If I’m going to be a Psychonaut, I’m not backing down from a challenge,” Raz then smirked at Bobby. “You’ll be eating my dust instead.”

“Pah! I’ve been the racing champ ever since I started camp! There no way in Hell any of you losers can beat me!” Bobby boasted.

“I bet he’s only been here for a day then?” Ness snarked.

“Ness!” Paula admonished, but she couldn’t hide a giggle at Ness’s quip.

“Well, I don’t remember him ever getting lessons from Mr. Nein,” Ness then added. “So the logical conclusion is that he hasn’t been in camp long enough.”

“Why you-” Bobby stomped over and gave Ness a hard shove. Ness was pushed back, but managed to brace himself from falling off his thought bubble.

“You think you’re so tough newbie?” Bobby snarled as he cracked his knuckles. Paula then stood between the boys, giving Bobby a fierce glare.

“That’s enough,” she warned. “Miss Vodello’s watching.”

“Children!” Milla voice rang out. “Please, no fighting.” The children all looked up at the floating screen displaying their teacher.

“It’s time to see how fast you all are. When you are ready, line up at the starting line.” As the four children approached the starting line, Ness noticed Bobby smirking at him. 

“Woo hoo!” Crystal cheered as she bounced on her thought bubble. “Hey Paula! I’m rooting for you!”

“We both are!” Clem them added. Paula blushed at the cheerleaders’ attention.

“Thanks,” she then took her place next to Ness.

“Ready?” Milla announced. Ness steeled himself; he then shot a quick glance at his friends. Raz was ready to run at the signal, but Paula was nervous. “Get set…” Ness then noticed Bobby make a gesture at him.

“Go baby GO!” Milla called out. And all the children bolted forward. Well, most of them.

“Hey!” Paula’s teddy bear was flung behind as Bobby laughed.

“Bobby you jerk!” Ness snapped angrily as he started to retrieve Paula’s toy.

“It’s ok Ness. I can get him myself,” Paula reassured as she headed toward where her bear landed. She smiled at Ness, “Go! I’ll catch up!” 

Ness sighed and started down the racetrack. He easily passed Crystal and Clem using the boosters littering the track. Up ahead, he could see Raz and Bobby were neck to neck under a translucent golden path. Bobby laughed as he pulled ahead.

“Can’t get past me Raz the Spaz!” The bully taunted as he passed through a booster. Raz gritted his teeth and continued forward using the same booster. Ness pushed himself to run faster and slowly but surely began to catch up with Raz. Raz noticed Ness drawing closer and gave a smile, which was lost when he noticed Paula wasn’t present.

“What happened?” Raz inquired.

“Bobby happened, that’s what,” Ness answered. “C’mon! One of us has gotta beat him!” Ness then dashed through another booster… only to find himself crashing into a bumper. “OW!” Ness staggered, but was somehow able to stay on his thought bubble. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raz weave through the cluster of bumpers with ease.

“You okay?”

“Keep going! I can get more momentum with the next booster!” Ness willed himself through the booster after Raz. The boys kept running down the track; Ness noticed that Raz was accelerating at a higher pace than he was. After passing through a gate, both boys were able to see Bobby again. As they gained, the bully naturally noticed.

“Just give up!” Bobby taunted. “You slowpokes can’t catch me!” As the three boys raced under another gold trail, a pink blur suddenly dashed past all of them.

“Wha-” Bobby could only splutter in shock as Paula raced ahead of him. Ness quickly recovered from the surprise and managed to pass Raz.

“Raz! You snooze you lose!” Ness called as he passed Bobby. Ness’s quip snapped Raz out of his stupor and he passed Bobby as well. Bobby could only yell out as he tried to regain his lost lead.

Ness and Raz continued down the track, making sure to pass through the boosters and avoid the bumpers. Before the boys found Paula, Raz overtook Ness and stayed ahead. Ness didn’t mind however. He was having too much fun racing with his friends. It didn’t hurt that they were staying ahead of Bobby now.

The boys finally caught up to Paula as she was passing through another gate. She passed through the last booster and rocketed towards the finish line. As she crossed the finish line, a fanfare sounded. Paula barely managed to stop herself as Milla praised her.

“You did it Paula! I’m so proud of you darling! You are quick like greasy lightning!” Paula blushed and hugged her bear shyly.

“I didn’t realize just how fast I was using Levitation,” Paula admitted shyly. Raz then crossed the finish line, and then Ness followed. Ness then made a beeline right for the race’s victor.

“Congratulations!” Ness congratulated Paula as he picked her up by the waist and spun her around happily.

“Ness!” Paula cried out in surprise, her cheeks a bright pink. Ness realizing what he just did, quickly put her down. “Sorry…” he apologized as he rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks also flushed pink.

“Hey!” Bobby crossed the finish line and started towards Paula. “I demand a rematch!” Ness quickly stood in front of Paula.

“Don’t be such a sore loser Slackjaw. Not her fault that she won when you tried to cheat after all!” Ness glared at the bully.

“Paula won fair and square Bobby,” Milla announced. Bobby, unable to argue with the counselor, snorted and stomped away from the trio. Milla then addressed the three friends.

“You are all so fast you’ll all be at my party in no time, eh?”  
\---  
The next room was the tallest by far. The three children found themselves standing a ledge. Ness noticed the room was also darker than the racetrack; light was coming from the figments floating about and the blue vents blowing bubbles upwards. Ness could see some of the other campers using the bubbles to float even higher. A large inert fan was embedded in the floor at the middle of the room. Near the three children, a teleport bug watched the three friends.

“Okay, if you want to get up to where the action is, you are all going to have to do a lot of floating in the room babies,” Milla’s voice announced, “Good thing you three are so light on your feet.”

Ness felt Paula grasp his hand as she gazed upward. He smiled and nodded, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Raz turned to the Eaglelanders.

“Ready?” At Raz’s question, Ness nodded and Paula steeled herself.

“Yes.” And after the answer, the three summoned their thought bubbles and began to explore the room. After gathering the scattered figments, Raz bounced to the nearest vent and held his bubble over his head. Ness and Paula watched as the vent lifted Raz higher.

“If you float in some area, you might get a little more mmmmf than usual.” Milla lectured. Still holding hands, the two Eaglelanders held their bubbles over their heads and felt themselves floating in the air. The three children rose higher and higher using the vents until they reached the top of the room, where a switch was. On a lower ledge opposite of the switch, the door to Milla’s party was barred with a colorful barrier.

“Well, Raz, you do the honors,” Ness smiled.

“Actually, I think it should be Paula,” Raz countered. “She won the race after all.”

“Me?” Paula asked, her cheeks pink.

“Besides,” Raz added, “I haven’t seen Paula throw a Psi-punch yet.”

“My punches aren’t that strong-”

“You were able to bruise my cheek,” Ness countered Paula’s argument. Paula’s blush deepened at Ness’s comment.

“Ness, that was an accident,” Paula looked away, embarrassed. “And your cheek is fine now.”

“It’s okay Paula,” Raz comforted. “It’s just a switch. It won’t take too much force.”

“Raz is right,” Ness added. “Just try once. If you can’t activate it, then I’ll try.” Paula, sighed, then stepped toward the switch. She took a deep breath, clenched her right fist as she summoned her psychic aura and threw a punch at the switch. In response, the switch began to glow. The children heard the large floor fan begin blowing a blue breeze upwards.

“Now you’re going to have to use your Psi Float again to get those rings spinning,” Milla instructed the children. The children looked down from the ledge they stood on and saw nine inert rings floating at various locations around the room.

“We better start from the bottom then,” Raz decided. The children passed through three rings each. After passing though her third ring, Paula quickly landed on one of the bubble vents to calm herself down. Ness was quick to join her after he passed though his own third ring to comfort her, leaving Raz to spin the topmost ring. After Raz passed through the last ring, the barrier over the door vanished. As Raz drifted to the doorway, Paula stepped forward, leading Ness to the blue wind.

“Don’t let go okay?”

“I won’t.” The two Eaglelanders lifted their bubbles and floated together to meet up with Raz again. The three friends stood in front of the door.

“Allow me,” Raz punched the door open with a well-placed Psi Punch. The trio levitated through the opened door. After passing through a short hall, they were greeted by the liveliest party. Their fellow campers were all dancing with Milla’s mental dancers in various alcove platforms. And in the middle of the party was Milla Vodello herself. The three Psi-cadets levitated to the counselor.

“Who’s that I see? It’s Razputin, the Rolling Rock Star, Paula, the Twoson Wonder, and Ness, the Enduring Runner! In the flesh! And just in time.” Milla smiled proudly at her students, “The party was dying without you three darlings. Here, I have some party favors for you all.” And from her open palm, three blue Levitation merit badges floated towards the Psi-cadets. Graciously, the trio accepted the badges.

“So cute!” Milla then leaned toward Raz and planted a congratulatory kiss on the top of his head. Ness chuckled as he watched Raz flinch and shy away from the counselor. When Milla turned to Ness, Paula started clinging to Ness’s arm rather tightly. Bemused, Ness turned to Paula, who was giving Milla a rather, strange look. Milla simply gave Paula an understanding smile. “You two are quite talented as well. You’re incredibly fast,” she praised Paula. She then eyed Ness, “And you can bound great heights.” Ness rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed but proud all the same.

“Thanks,” and he meant it. Paula meanwhile had released his arm, and simply curtsied.

“And thank you for teaching us how to Levitate Miss Vodello,” Paula smiled gratefully. Ness swallowed as he watched Paula. The party wasn’t over yet, so it was now or never.

“Hey, Paula?” Ness asked, trying and failing to hide his apprehension.

“Yes?” Paula gazed curiously at Ness addressing her. He felt his cheeks redden as her blue eyes examined his violet eyes.

“Do you…” he slowly held out his hand towards Paula, “I mean… can you…” His hand started quivering, “… Umm… Dance with me, please?” After asking the question, Ness tore his gaze away from Paula, his cheeks burning. He started to pull his hand away, but then felt something stop it. Surprised, Ness faced Paula and noticed she was holding his hand, and smiling.

“I’d love to dance with you,” Paula beamed, her cheeks were red as well, but she didn’t seem bothered. Ness froze, dumbstruck at Paula’s answer. She giggled, and then she pulled him into an impromptu twirl. As she led him, he heard her voice in his mind. ‘Do you want to lead now?’

‘Sorry,’ he telepathically responded, still following her, ‘I don’t know any dance moves.’ He looked away again, his cheeks were flaring even redder with embarrassment. Ness felt Paula’s movements slow down.

‘Why don’t you try lifting me?’ Ness faced Paula again at her question. This time, she was averting her gaze, but still smiling all the same, her cheeks were even redder.

‘Please look at me.’ Their eyes met again. Nervously, Ness grasped her waist and lifted her lightly. He then twirled her around once, and then set her down. As he released her, she then took his hand and then began to lead him again. The two Eaglelanders danced until Milla ended the lesson.


	7. Chapter 6: Evening Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update!
> 
> Ness and Paula spend the evening together. But something's wrong...

“That was so much fun! I had a great time dancing with you,” Ness smiled as he held Paula’s hand. Raz had left to return to Sasha’s laboratory, leaving the two Eaglelanders together. Though Ness was tempted to simply float back to shore, Paula wanted to return the canoes that were used to reach Milla’s class. Now the two Eaglelanders were walking by Lake Oblongata’s shore together. 

“Well, you wanted to make up how you acted to our campmates right?” Paula asked as she led Ness towards two nearby campers; Elton Fir and Milka Phage. “Let’s start with those two.” Ness released Paula’s hand and walked over to the dock where Elton and Milka were.

“Hey, Elton, Milka,” Ness greeted cheerfully. “How are you two doing?” 

“Oh, we’re doing ok,” Elton answered. Milka then took Elton’s hand.

“Just a little busy,” Milka then added. Ness faltered at the look Milka gave him. Paula, sensing the tension, quickly intervened.

“We’ll be sure to leave you alone then,” Paula took Ness’s hand and started to lead him away. “Take care of yourselves.” Before Ness realized it, Paula had led him to the Main Cabin Area. 

“Huh, Milka finally managed to speak to Elton,” Paula mused.

“So he’s not fawning over Lili anymore then. Good for him, I tried to tell him Lili wasn’t interested,” Ness then scoffed. “Lili’s such a brat.”

“She really isn’t. She’s just… well… guarded,” Paula admonished. “She can block my Empathy, but I know she’s not as mean as she acts.”

“You think the same about Kitty and Franke?” Ness snarked. The two Eaglelanders paused in front of the Main Cabin’s door; then Ness walked forward and opened the door. “After you,” he gestured to Paula. The two Eaglelanders could hear Quentin and Phoebe playing on their turntable and drums respectively.

“Why thank you,” Paula giggled as she entered the building. As Ness followed her, she then added. “Lili is nicer than Kitty, Franke, and Elka combined.” Before Ness could reply, a grumbling sound emerged from his stomach. He blushed as Paula raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Well, I better get a Dream Fluff from the cook,” Ness chuckled embarrassedly. But before he could approach Chef Cruller’s counter, Paula stopped him.

“It’s ok. My dad made sure I came to camp prepared.” She sat down at a table and gestured Ness to sit next to her. After Ness took his seat, she reached in her red bag and took out a sandwich.

“Hey, I recognize that sandwich, it’s the same type of sandwich that was thrown at me earlier!” Ness exclaimed. It was Paula’s turn to blush.

“I just had a feeling you were hungry earlier,” she handed the sandwich to him. Ness took it, but as he opened the packaging, he paused.

“Is there anything I can do thank you for both sandwiches?”

“No,” Paula answered as she took out her own sandwich. “My father really went way overboard with making sure I would not go hungry at camp. I can’t finish these lucky sandwiches by myself.”

“Well, then, I can finish them for you,” Ness chuckled. The two Eaglelanders then enjoyed their sandwiches together. But as Paula finished her sandwich, she then turned to the room next to the stage Quentin and Phoebe were rehearsing on. She stood up and headed for the room. Ness stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and quickly followed her.

“T…V…” Ness blinked in surprise as he and Paula stared at the group of children in the room. Mainly because Kitty and Franke were sitting with Dogen and Vernon.

“Hackey… sack…” Franke droned.

“Yes… hackey sack…” Vernon added.

“Are you all… okay?” Paula asked. Ness shivered when he felt the fear that Paula was inadvertently projecting. 

“Hey Paula, Ness,” Vernon then droned in response to Paula’s question.

“Vernon!” Paula sighed in relief. But it was short lived. “I’m glad you’re ok, but Kitty, Franke, and Dogen… something’s wrong with them!”

“Well, I was wondering why Franke let me get this close,” Vernon mused. “But they were listening to my stories. Care to join us?”

“Um… no thanks,” Ness then started dragging Paula away. “We have some studying to do.” As Ness lead Paula towards the exit, Paula called out to Vernon.

“Vernon, please stay indoors when night falls!”

After exiting the Main Lodge, Ness took Paula’s hand. “Paula, why were you so scared?”

“Ness, something’s wrong,” Paula replied. “It’s…” She then faltered, then looked away. “Never mind…”

“Oh look at that! The Twoson Wonder’s acting all prissy!” Ness turned and glared at Bobby.

“Buzz off lumpjaw!” Ness stood in front of Paula. “You’re just a sore loser.”

“Hey Chloe!” Paula cheerfully greeted the youngest camper. Ness turned to Paula, surprised that she brightened up just by seeing Chloe Barge. Come to think of it, where did Chloe come from?

“Greetings Paula, I apologize for Bobby’s aggression,” Chloe replied. “I wa seeking you out because I was hoping you could help me contact my home planet.”

“Wait, what?” Ness then turned towards Chloe. “Are you saying that you are an alien?”

“Affirmative,” Chloe answered Ness’s question. Ness couldn’t help himself; he burst into laughter.

“Hey!” While Ness was in the middle of laughing his head off, Bobby gave him a hard shove. Ness staggered, but he didn’t fall, and he didn’t stop laughing.

“I’m sorry, but you think you’re an alien?!” Ness finally managed to find his words. “I thought you just like wearing a helmet all the time.” Bobby snarled and then grabbed Ness by the front of his shirt.

“I’m gonna make you eat those words Nessie!” Bobby then pulled a fist back.

“Hey!” Before Bobby could sock Ness in the cheek, he was shoved away by a pink hand. Paula then stood between the boys. “I’m sorry Chloe. I’d love to help you, but I believe I need to talk with Ness first. I think you need to talk with Bobby as well.”

“Very well,” Chloe then took Bobby’s hand. “We really need to work on you.” The smallest camper then led the camp bully away.

“Since when were those two buddies?” Ness asked as he dusted himself, still amused by what he learned about Chloe. But then he felt disappointment wash over him. “Oh, sorry,” he apologized. Paula shook her head.

“You should apologize to Chloe the next time you see her.”

“I know, but really? She thinks she’s an alien? Doesn’t she know that aliens are just science fiction?” Ness asked.

“And we’re all psychics. I think you need to be open minded,” Paula admonished.

“I am open minded, but I can also tell fiction and reality apart,” Ness answered.

“Would you laugh at me then, if I told you I think something terrible is going to happen at this camp then?!” Paula cried out. Ness flinched at Paula’s tone. He then felt fear wash over him as Paula then started hugging her teddy bear tightly. Guilt flooded through him as he noticed she refused to meet his eye.

“If anything’s worrying you, please tell me,” Ness then pulled Paula into an embrace, ignoring the rising warmth in his cheeks. “I really like you,” Ness then blurted, “I liked you ever since I first met you, when I stopped Bobby and Benny from bullying you,” he paused, “I was jealous of Raz, because I liked you. I was just too proud to admit it at first.” Ness closed his eyes and tilted his head. He felt Paula’s surprise as his forehead touched hers.

“Ness… thank you,” Paula whispered, but then she pulled away from him. Ness saw that her cheeks were red as well. “But I told you, my dad doesn’t want me dating any boys.” Ness felt his cheeks burn, he had forgotten about that. Paula then started to back away from Ness. “I better get back to studying.” She then turned and started to run towards the Kids’ Cabins.

“Wait!” Ness called out after her. “Can’t I study with you?” He started to follow. But Paula didn’t stop running.

‘ _Please leave me alone,_ ’ Ness then heard Paula’s thoughts. And he could then feel a sense of longing radiate from the direction Paula went. Ness felt his cheeks burn again. She did like him back! But because of her father’s rules, she refused to be more than friends. Ness then sighed.

‘ _And now I ruined my friendship with her by confessing and being a jerk to Chloe,_ ’ he thought to himself bitterly. Ness reached into his pocket and took out his yo-yo. He started practicing his walk the dog as he walked towards the GPC.

When Ness reached the forest, he sighed. He then noticed the sun was starting to descend over the horizon. He looked at his yo-yo. ‘ _How long was I practicing my yo-yo tricks?’_ He asked himself. He then noticed a sturdy tree branch near the fence surrounding the Isolation Chambers. Focusing his thoughts, Ness levitated on to the branch and settled down. Alone with his thoughts, Ness started to think of his mother again. He then started thinking of his little sister, his dog, and his neighbors, and how much he missed his hometown of Onett.

He closed his eyes…

\---

“CAW CAW CAW!” Ness was startled awake but the rustling wings and cries of a murder of crows. Panting, Ness placed a hand to his forehead; he felt hot, a fever at this time? He was still on his tree branch, but the sun had long since disappeared, now replaced by a moon in the dark sky.

‘ _How long was I asleep?”_ Ness asked himself as he floated from his resting place, still feeling groggy from his fever. When he landed on the ground, he then sensed something was terribly _wrong_. “Paula!” Ness started to head to the Kids’ Cabins, but then a pillar of light flashed in front of him. Ness stumbled backwards and then fell on his rump. When the light faded, a strange figure stood in front of him. A slender metallic grey being stared at him with a pitch-black visor, its tentacle-like arms resting on its hips as it stood rigid on slim legs. In the moonlight, Ness could see a strange insignia on its chest.

“I have finally found you,” the strange thing spoke. Ness flinched at its voice. It sounded robotic and wrong. “Did you think you could hide from us, Chosen One?” A scarlet glow began to cover the visor. Ness quickly rolled onto his feet as a burst of fire converged on the earth he was previously prone. Ness pulled out his cracked bat and glared at his attacker through the flames. As the fire died down, the attacker suddenly vanished. Ness looked around, and then suddenly felt a blow from behind. He fell forward, but managed to stagger up to his feet. He then felt a blast of cold force him back. Ness barely remained standing as his foe suddenly charged towards him, arm raised high for an attack. Before he could get impaled, Ness blocked the attack with his bat. At the sound of cracking wood, Ness then summoned a blue hand to grab his opponent. Using telekinesis, Ness slammed his attacker against the ground. But his attacker simply stood again.

“Pitiful, your power is nothing,” the being whirred as its visor glowed blue. Ness groaned; his fever was getting worse. ‘ _Where are the counselors_?’ He wondered to himself. ‘ _They should be hear to help any Psy-Cadets in trouble!_ ’ Suddenly, roar sounded through the night air. The new sound was then followed by familiar scream.

“Paula!” Ness’s fever suddenly broke, and Ness unleashed a flash of green light. The burst of light exploded into a dazzling display. 

“What-” Ness ignored his assailant’s surprise at the light show to run towards the direction of the roar and Paula’s voice; Lake Oblongata.

\---

Ness didn’t stop running until he reached the beach. When he arrived at the shore, a frightening sight greeted him. A giant brown monstrous fish with mismatched red and green glowing eyes on its bulging head stood on the shore on finned legs shorter than its finned arms, and it held Paula in its lure attached to its forehead! The beast opened its mouth, a maw lined with mismatched sharp teeth, and then swallowed Paula whole! Paula’s scream was silenced when she vanished past the monster’s teeth.

“HEY!” brandishing his bat Ness dashed forward. “SPIT HER OUT!” The monster jolted in surprise when it saw Ness charging at it, and then fled into the lake. “GET BACK HERE!” Ness roared as he started to follow. But before Ness could dive into the water, he felt a blast of cold knock him over. Ness fell on to the sand and felt ice start to encase him. “BUZZ OFF!” He glared at his assailant. Now that Ness was in a brighter environment, he had a clearer view of his attacker. He knew for sure that his assailant was not human at all.

“I told you,” the being whirred as its visor glowed scarlet, “you can not run.” Suddenly, an orange fist smashed the assailant aside. Ness broke free of the ice and staggered to his feet as Raz raced to his side.

 “You know this guy?” Raz asked the assailant righted itself.

 “No,” Ness answered truthfully, “But I know this guy’s getting a beating!” Focusing his anger, Ness fired three Psi-Blasts at his opponent’s head. Ness smiled as his projectiles connected and exploded. As the being staggered from Ness’s onslaught, Raz then focused his power on the assailant, and set its form ablaze.

 “Master…” the attacker whirred is dismay as Raz incinerated it, “…forgive… me…” All that was left was a pile a molten metal. His attacker dealt with, Ness brandished his bat and turned to the lake. But before he could dive into the lake, he felt Raz grab his arm.

 “Don’t try to stop me,” Ness pulled away from Raz.

 “I don’t want to stop you! I wanna come, too! That monster ate Lili!”

 “Then why are you stopping me?” At Ness’s question, something suddenly popped from Raz’s head. It was the head of an old man. The top of the man’s head was bald, but the back of his head was rimmed with white hair. The man’s white eyebrows were bushy, and a small mustache was set under the man’s pink nose. Ness stared in surprise, ‘ _I know that man_.’

 “Let’s get ‘em!” The man’s voice was also familiar.

 “Hey, you look like the camp chef,” Ness remarked.

 “How I look isn’t important now!” the elder barked at the boys, “You two better get going!”

 “…I… can’t…” Raz hesitated, and then admitted, “I can’t swim.”

 “Well then use the bathysphere at the end of the dock!” The man ordered. “Quick! While the flipper prints are still glowing!” Indeed, the monster’s large footprints were glowing dimly in the moonlight.

“Are you coming?” Raz asked, “I dunno how to drive that thing.”

 “Uh… I can’t. I have to uh… check on the other children! Yes, yes!” Ness eyed the man suspiciously. “If their brains are out, they’ll need supervision, and possibly refrigeration…”

“Wait, what’s going on here?” Ness then interrupted. “First, a giant fish monster ate Lili and Paula, second, an old man who looks like the chef is poking out of your head, and finally, the other campers’ brains are out?”

“I’ll make it quick,” Raz offered, “It turns out Coach Oleander was plotting to steal everyone’s brains!”

“What?!” Ness’s eyes widened at Raz’s statement. “He was planning to steal our brains?! Why?!”

“He’s trying to take over the world!” Raz answered. “In fact, before that monster attacked, Paula told me she was worried about you. She said that if Oleander got your brains, the whole world is doomed!”

“She shouldn’t worry about me!” Ness cried out. “I was supposed to protect her, and I failed! We have to get going!” Ness placed his bat into his backpack and started towards the dock. “You can explain more as we go to that bathysphere.”

“And how can you not know how to operate a bathysphere? Haven’t you ever been to summer camp before?” The man then admonished Raz. “Now get a move on, before those two girls get overly digested.” The old man then disappeared into Raz’s head. Raz then bolted after Ness, and caught up to the Eaglelander as they passed Admiral Cruller’s canoes.

“Huh, that old man looked like Admiral Cruller, too,” Ness commented as they walked across the dock. He then faced Raz, “Who was that guy poking from your head?”

“Agent Ford Cruller, the greatest leader the Psychonauts had,” Raz answered.

“Why does he look like the chef and the admiral?” Ness asked. He then paused. “Wait, he also looked like the ranger!”

“Um,” Raz paused, then answered, “Because he’s got twin brothers?” Ness couldn’t help but laugh at Raz’s answer.

“I know you’re hiding something, but that’s not important. The two boys were only a few feet from the end of the dock. “What’s important is Oleander’s plot, and why our other teachers aren’t here to help us.”

“They left for ‘Official Psychonauts Business,’” Raz answered bitterly.

“At a time like this?!” Ness cried out in alarm. “What about the other campers. Cruller mentioned that their brains are out didn’t he?”

“Yep, I first found out about Oleander’s plot during my training with Sasha,” Raz explained. “I didn’t realize it was Oleander at first, because I saw a vision of Dogen getting his brain stolen by a crazy stainless steel, three pronged clawed dentist wearing a shower cap first. And when I told Lili about what I saw, she then told me she had the same nightmare, too! She told me to meet me outside the old boathouse.”

“Why was Paula with you two?” Ness then asked.

“Well, it turns out that nightmare Paula had last night? She also saw the same nightmare Lili and I saw.”

“Hold on, Paula saw this happening in her dreams?” Ness asked, shocked. The boys had reached the bathysphere at the dock’s end by now. “Why didn’t she tell anyone-?” Ness then remembered what Paula said to him earlier. “She was scared no one would believe her, right?”

“Yeah,” Raz nodded. “She said that it would be her fault if you lost your brain.”

“Why would she blame herself? It would be on Oleander and his psycho dentist sidekick.”

“Because she didn’t warn you,” Raz answered. “She wanted to warn you, but she was scared you wouldn’t believe her. She told me she asked Milla about Oleander earlier, but Milla told her not to worry. Maybe that’s why she was reluctant to tell anyone else until Lili found her earlier tonight.”

“And now she’s gonna get her brain stolen,” Ness gritted his teeth, and then turned to the bathysphere. “We can’t dawdle anymore. We better find that lake monster!” Ness pulled the hatch on the bathysphere open. “Ready?”

“No need to ask me twice,” Raz then stepped into the bathysphere, Ness followed shortly. The moment Ness sealed himself and Raz in the bathysphere, the craft plummeted into the depths of the lake. As the bathysphere sunk deeper and deeper, all that was on Ness’s mind was making that Hideous Hulking Lungfish pay for taking Paula away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time! Let's dive into Lake Oblongata!


	8. Chapter 7: Beneath Lake Oblongata

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ness and Raz take the plunge into the depths of Lake Oblongata.

The descent into the depths of Lake Oblongata ended roughly. First, the bathysphere bounced on a large air bubble, then it sunk though the bubble, crashing onto the lake floor and sending its passengers sprawling into a wall of glowing fresh water coral. Ness and Raz dusted the pieces of coral off their clothes and took in their surroundings.

 

The bubble covered a sizeable area. Behind the boys were large mountainous rocks. They stood on a ledge over a wide rocky plain. The plain was dotted with large open clams, flopped over seaweed, and crates. The boys nodded at each other leapt of the ledge to explore. On closer inspection, the crates were filled with nails, and if the clams were disturbed, they would snap shut (and one almost snapped Ness’s hand off). The boys then turned back towards the way they came, and the noticed they had somehow missed the landmark next to the mountain.

 

“Hey…” Ness gazed upward at the structure that he and Raz landed near. “Is that… a building? What’s a building doing at the bottom of the lake?”

 

“This is the town of Shaky Claim,” Raz answered Ness’s question. “The Psitanium under the earth caused the settlers who moved into this land to go insane. Eventually, the government evacuated the remaining few sane people, than flooded this place to make sure no one else moved in here.”

 

“Wow, quite a history lesson,” Ness commented. “Now where is that hideous monster…?” Ness looked around again. “I bet it’s somewhere outside the bubble, but we can’t swim after it.”

 

“We lure it towards us then,” Raz answered.

 

“But how?” Ness wondered. The boys fell silent, and then Raz looked at the top of the building.

 

“Hey, there’s a bell at the top of that tower,” Raz observed. “Think that fish can hear things?”

 

“Worth a shot,” Ness nodded, “Great idea Raz.” Ness then shattered the coral that barred the way, and using Levitation, the boys easily scaled the building, and jumped onto the pull rope. Ness landed higher than Raz, and their combined weight moved the rope.

 

 **DONG** … **DONG** … Ness felt his head rattle as the bell chimed. Beneath him, he noticed Raz didn’t fare any better. At the third chime, the boys released the pull string and landed on the lake floor. After landing, Ness brandished his trusty bat, and started to gaze about warily. Raz kept a lookout behind Ness. Both boys heard the sound of moving water.

 

“Raz, it’s coming…” Ness narrowed his eyes at the mismatched glowing eyes shining in the dark water outside the bubble. Raz turned and faced the direction Ness was facing. As the Hideous Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata neared the edge of the bubble Raz yelled out.

 

“Okay, cough up the girls and no one gets hurt fish!”

 

 “Or would you rather I beat them out of you?” Ness added; his fury reignited at the sight of the beast. The Lake Monster simply poked its mouth through the bubble and roared.

 

“Man, it’s gonna be hard to find a new place to give you lumps,” Raz commented as the beast bellowed at the boys.

 

“Then we just give it more lumps on the lumps in already has,” Ness growled as he took a battle stance. The Lake Monster had just finished roaring and then took a deep breath. As the monster inhaled, the boys struggled to keep from being drawn into its maw. Ness then noticed the bubble was shrinking as the monster continued inhaling.

 

‘ _Not good!_ ’ He thought to himself. ‘ _Either we get eaten, or drown!_ ’ The sound of clinking metal then caught his attention. “Hey! Suck on this!” Ness struck the nearby nail crate with his bat, smashing it and sending its contents towards the lungfish. When the nails bombarded the lake monster, it stopped inhaling air, and then it roared in pain. It then released a large burst of air, enlarging the bubble. As the bubble expanded, some large crayfish and lamprey like fish started falling into the bubble. A fish landed on Ness, and then attached its mouth to his head

 

“Hey!” Ness pulled the fish off and tossed in away. “No touching my cap!” Raz meanwhile punched away a crayfish. Eventually, the Lake Monster started to inhale again. Raz quickly followed Ness’s example and Psi-punched another nail crate open. Again, the monster roared in pain, but the monster then continued inhaling. Both boys then broke two more nail crates to send more nails at the beast. After the third bombardment of nails, the Lake Monster decided to change tactics.

 

“What is it-?” Ness watched as the Lake Monster placed its fins on the bubble, and began to push.

 

“Looks like we better move!” Raz quipped as he followed the path revealed by the moving bubble. Ness was quick to follow. The path was littered with deep pits, but luckily, there were sturdy ancients scaffolding that allowed the boys to cross the pits safely. When the boys found their way barred with more coral, they simply Psi-punched through and continued onward. As they went deeper through the lake, Ness couldn’t help but marvel at the ancient town.

 

After climbing a rock stairway, the Lake Monster then started pushing the bubble in a different direction. The boys were forced deeper into the flooded town. They found their way barred by some ruins. Ness easily scaled the ruins using Levitation. Raz meanwhile opted to use his circus training to climb the ruins. All the while, the boys dodged falling marine wildlife. After climbing up some stairways, the boys found themselves in another flat area of the lakebed. The monster stopped pushing the bubble, the stuck its face through the bubble and started to inhale.

 

“Now what?” Ness asked. There weren’t any nail crates they could use to stop the monster from shrinking the bubble. All the boys could do was run try to avoid getting sucked into the beast’s mouth. Ness noticed how Raz desperately was avoiding the edges of the bubble. In fact, Raz was so busy trying to avoid the water; he didn’t notice a suckerfish was about to fall on him.

 

“Hey!” Raz cried out in pain when the fish latched on to him. He then stumbled and fell through the bubble!

 

“Raz!” Ness took a deep breath a plunged into the water after him. He felt the lake’s chill soak his clothing and sting his eyes, but Ness could barely make out Raz’s figure being washed away from the bubble. Focusing on Raz’s figure, Ness willed his Telekinesis. Much to his relief, his psychic hand managed to catch Raz. Before Ness could release his breath, he quickly swam back into the bubble, making sure to pull Raz back with him. Both boys tumbled back into the bubble, panting and coughing, soaked to the bone and freezing, but still in one piece.

 

“Ness,” Raz spoke between coughs, “Thanks…”

 

“Don’t mention it,” Ness smiled. Both boys then returned their focus on the monster that tried to drown them. The monster began to exhale. To Ness’s surprise the monster spitted out some more nail crates. Ness recovered from his surprise and started towards the crate closest to him, but then felt Raz grab him.

 

“Wait! If you smash a crate now, you’ll get nails all over your body!”

 

“Oh,” Ness rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks for warning me.” Shortly afterward, the Lake Monster began to inhale.

 

“Now we can serve up the nails!” Raz released Ness. Ness wasted no time striking the crate open. Again, the monster roared in pain after receiving the serving of nails. But the beast then resumed inhaling air. Raz dashed to another crate sending more nails at the monster. After another roar, the monster tried to inhale one more time, but both boys sent another two crates worth of nails at it. The monster roared in what sounded like desperation, and then began to move the bubble again.

 

The boys wasted no time and dashed across the lakebed to remain in the bubble. They bubble passed through more of the abandoned town of Shaky Claim, sending more shivers through Ness’s spine. When they came across a tower of wooden crates, they scaled the obstacle easily. The crates led to a drop, but the boys continued onward. They then found themselves in a large pit. Though they could use netting on the other side to climb the pit’s wall, the boys opted to use Levitation instead. The terrain had changed to more wooden structures. The boys continued to scale the structures, smashing through more coral until they found a rail spiraling downwards.

 

The monster then swam above the bubble and began to push it downwards. Raz then dashed forward and started grinding on the rails!

 

“What about our shoes?” Ness asked in concern.

 

“Just use your PSI! It’ll protect your soles!” Raz answered. Ness narrowed his eyes and focused his power on his feet. He then followed after Raz. After both boys finished the slide downwards, the Hideous Hulking Lungfish then entered the bubble with a roar. Ness responded with a war cry and charged forward with his bat in hand. But as Ness swung his bat, the monster swung its lure and caught his bat with it.

 

“Hey!” Ness cried out as the beast then swung him around. As Ness held on to his bat, he saw an orange Psi-blast strike the monster.

 

“No use!” Raz cried out when his Marksmanship failed to affect the monster. The monster eventually released Ness’s bat, sending the Eaglelander flying. Ness tumbled along the rocky lakebed, his bat clattering next to him. As Ness struggled back on to his feet, he watched as the monster started for Raz. Ness then pulled out his own Psi-blast and pitched it at the beast. As usual, the Psi-blast exploded when it made its mark, but like Raz’s shot, it failed to do anything against the monster as it continued toward Raz, swinging its lure at him when it got close enough. Luckily, Raz was fast enough to flip away from the monster’s attack. And so instead of striking Raz, a nearby clam ended up shutting its shell onto the lure, pinning the monster in place.

 

Ness met Raz’s eye when they saw the monster struggling to pull its lure free. Then both dashed forward and started to punch and bat the monster mercilessly until the beast managed to free its lure. The monster then started for Ness, but Ness dashed towards another giant clam. The monster took the bait and swung its lure at the Eaglelander, getting itself trapped again. Raz dashed towards the monster and struck it with a triple Psi-punch combo. After Raz’s last punch, Ness focused his power on his bat and swung, striking the beast with a flashy SMAAAASH! The beast roared and flailed in pain, and then squatting its hind legs, stood still, wavering periodically.

 

The two boys glared at the monster for a moment, then Ness brandished his bat and stepped forward, ready to bash it in some more to avenge Paula.

 

“Ah, poor little thing.” Ness spun around when he heard Ford Cruller’s voice.

 

“What do you mean, ‘Poor little thing?!’ Don’t you know what this monster did? It ate Paula and Lili!” He exclaimed in anger, glaring at the old man poking out of Raz’s head.

 

“And that “poor little thing” also tried kill to us about eight different ways,” Raz agreed with Ness’s statement.

 

“Well, that’s not its fault,” Cruller explained, “This was once just a normal-sized lungfish, minding its own business in a mucus lined air bubble beneath a semi-dry lakebed. But judging by the work done on it, I suspect Morry has mutated it, accelerated its growth, and has placed an implant in its brain to make it do his evil bidding.” After Cruller’s explanation, the anger the boys felt at the Hideous Hulking Lungfish turned to pity, though Ness still felt wary about the beast.

 

“Whoa. Poor little thing,” Raz sympathized the quivering monster before him and Ness.

 

“Yeah. You two boys go inside and try to smash that implant!” Cruller then ordered the boys, “Razputin, you use that Psycho-Portal I saw you steal from Sasha’s lab.” When Ness heard Cruller’s last statement, he stared at Raz with a mix of surprise and amusement.

 

“You really stole from Sasha’s lab?” Ness then asked, unable to stop the smirk from forming on his face.

 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Raz admitted sheepishly. He then reached into his bag and took out Sasha’s Psycho-Portal. “That works on big, scary monsters?” He asked Cruller.

 

“Oh monster-schmonster! That thing is more afraid of you two, than you two are of it! No git in there!” And at the last order, Cruller was gone. The two boys then cautiously approached the prone lake monster.

 

“Ready?” Raz asked Ness.

 

“No use waiting around here. It’s freezing,” Ness took his cap off and wringed it dry. “Let’s rock and roll.”

 

And so Raz tossed the Psycho-Portal at the Hideous Hulking Lungfish. It landed between the beast’s eyes and then opened, revealing the familiar blinding white light. Ness closed his eyes, steeling his consciousness as it entered a new mind alongside Raz’s consciousness.

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so not much at the moment, but I really want to show how I think Ness and Paula would respond to the zany stuff that happens later.
> 
> Remember to leave comments. ;)


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